Garden Grove’s Big Half Stuns Cerritos

En route to its 40-6 demolition of Cerritos, Garden Grove scored 33 points in the first half despite completing just five passes and rushing for only 39 yards.

Garden Grove scored on all five of its first-half possessions Friday in Gahr’s Hanford Rants Stadium. The Argonauts started their five drives on the Cerritos 23-, 12-, 34- and17-yard lines, and their 44. That was in no small part due to the fact that Cerritos fumbled three times.

The first came on the first play from scrimmage. A muffed handoff was recovered by Garden Grove’s Brandon Hoalton on the 23.

The Argonauts ran 10 consecutive running plays, capped by Derek Smith’s one-yard touchdown run.

Cerritos ran three plays, two running plays that loss yards and an incomplete pass, then set up to punt. But the snap was fumbled and Garden Grove recovered on the 12. After four running plays, quarterback Simon Fuentes scored on a one-yard plunge.

By the time the first quarter was over, the score was 14-0 and Cerritos had failed to gain a yard in six plays from scrimmage. The Dons did not gain a positive yard until 6:52 remained in the first half, when running back Damone Johnson ran for three yards.

Johnson was Cerritos’ leading rusher. He gained 10 yards.

Still, he was the only Cerritos player who did gain positive yards. Quarterback Ryan Wilson was sacked seven times for a loss of 78 yards.

By the time Johnson made his milestone three-yard jaunt, Garden Grove had a 26-0 lead. Hoalton made the first of two touchdown receptions, this one a 17-yarder from Fuentes.

Jim Sebreros scored on a four-yard run to cap a three-play drive that started on the Cerritos 17 after the Dons fumbled a kickoff.

The Argonauts’ final and longest drive, which began on their 44, consisted of passes. The big one was a 38-yard completion to Adrian Ioja to put the ball at the Cerritos 2. After an illegal procedure penalty, Fuentes threw quickly to Hoalton who slid to make a seven-yard touchdown catch.