Los Amigos’ Late Touchdowns Are Enough to Defeat Estancia

Los Amigos scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to come from behind and defeat Estancia, 20-9, Friday at Garden Grove High.

The Lobos (1-0) trailed, 9-7, going into the final quarter, before Noah Tagatauli broke free on a 22-yard touchdown run with 11 minutes 39 seconds left to make the score 13-9. Estancia took the kickoff and drove to the Los Amigos 36-yard line. But Rick Payan recovered a fumbled Estancia snap to stop the drive.

Less than two minutes later, Lobo quarterback Ape Tuato connected with Carlos Sianez along the sideline for a 69-yard scoring play that put the game out of reach.

The Eagles (0-1) took an early 2-0 lead with a safety. With 4:50 left in the first quarter, Sianez went back to punt. The snap went over his head and the senior, while being chased, fielded the ball and sprinted through his end zone.

“It was a smart play on his part,” Los Amigos Coach Steve Bolton said. “We work on those situations every day in practice and I’m proud of him for using good judgment in that situation.”

Ironically, a similar punting situation set up the Lobos’ first score. Facing a fourth-and-six situation at its 26-yard line, Estancia’s Todd Thompson went back to punt. A high snap forced Thompson to run the ball. As a result, Los Amigos took over at the Eagles’ six-yard line. Two plays later, Tagatauli scored to make the score 7-2 at halftime.

Estancia’s Mike Pawinski intercepted a Tuato pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles the lead again.

Los Amigos held Estancia’s offense to 86 yards.