Martinez Leads Glendale Past Santa Monica

Angel Martinez caught five passes for 116 yards to propel Glendale College to a 24-7 Western State Conference victory over host Santa Monica on Saturday night.

Martinez’s final catch might have been his biggest.

It came on first and 25 from the Santa Monica 45-yard line with Glendale (2-1, 1-1 in WSC play) holding a 10-0 lead.

Martinez ran a short slant pattern and turned it into a 24-yard gain.

Fano Malieitulua gained five yards on the next play to give the Vaqueros a first down and, eight plays later, Pathon Rucker plunged over from the one to give Glendale a commanding 17-0 lead midway through the third quarter.

“Everything just worked out perfectly for me tonight,” said Martinez, a 1989 graduate of Saugus High. “It seemed like I was able to make the big plays whenever we needed them and I feel really good about that.”

Martinez, who entered the game tied for the WSC reception lead, has 14 catches for 253 yards this season.

Rucker, making his second start after sitting out the first game with a leg injury, had a game-high 103 yards in 23 carries.

Santa Monica (0-3, 0-2) narrowed its deficit to 17-7 with 4 minutes 47 seconds to play on a 14-yard touchdown run by Brett Washington, but Glendale recovered the onside kick and marched 46 yards in seven plays to seal the victory.

Washington, a former standout at Granada Hills High, was a bright spot in a Santa Monica offense that was shut down for most of the game. He gained 94 yards in 13 carries.

Glendale quarterback Eric Kiesau completed eight of 16 passes for 158 yards.

Glendale led, 10-0, at halftime after putting together 77- and 75-yard scoring drives. The first drive was capped by Rucker’s three-yard touchdown run, but Martinez had two key receptions.

The first came on a second-and-10 play from the Glendale 34 when Martinez made a diving catch for a 12-yard gain. The second came on a second-and-11 play from the Santa Monica 37 when Martinez hauled in a 30-yard pass from Kiesau despite the fact that defensive back Charles Towns was draped over him and called for pass interference.

Rucker (79 yards in 14 carries in the first half) did the bulk of the work on Glendale’s second scoring drive, which resulted in a 41-yard field goal by Brad Faunce with one second left in the second quarter.