Anaheim Struggles, but Has Enough to Beat Loara

Loara, trying to recover from the 46-6 shelling it took last week from Western, was faced Friday night at Glover Stadium with the task of stopping Anaheim, a team which routed Fullerton, 37-0, in its opener.

It was Anaheim who struggled, however, mostly because of the defensive play of Loara’s John Hernandez and the running of Denison Dawson. But Anaheim eventually wore the Saxons down, winning, 21-3.

Hernandez blocked a Javier Gomez punt, recorded a sack and tackled Gomez for a loss from punt formation. Dawson showed some good moves by running for 51 yards in 15 carries.

But it was the battering runs of Anaheim’s Brian Diaz and the passing of quarterback Phil Covarrubias to Gabriel Alcala that eventually took its toll on Loara.

Anaheim took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter when Covarrubias passed 18 yards to Alcala. Diaz ran for 24 yards during the drive and Julio Herrera kicked the first of three conversions.

Diaz finished with 116 yards in 19 carries, while Covarrubias completed five of 12 for 75 yards, three of those passes going to Alcala for 60 yards.