Tandem of Lynch, Cherrington Pace Santa Ana Valley, 30-14

Santa Ana Valley Coach Scott Orloff was hired only a few weeks before the season, but it didn’t take long for him to realize much of his team’s success would hinge on the play of quarterback Tristan Lynch and running back Dwayne Cherrington.

Those two were the key as the Falcons beat Saddleback, 30-14, in a nonleague game Friday at Santa Ana Stadium.

Lynch rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown, and Cherrington ran for 135 yards in 22 carries and scored three touchdowns for Santa Ana Valley (2-1).

Santa Ana Valley trailed, 7-6, late in the first half when the Falcons got the ball back on a fumble. Then, on fourth down, Lynch ran 32 yards for a touchdown and Cherrington added a two-point conversion to give the Falcons a 14-7 lead with 2 minutes 34 seconds left in the half.

Cherrington scored on a 28-yard run midway in the third quarter and then on an eight-yard run early in the fourth quarter to put Santa Ana Valley up, 28-7.

Saddleback tried to rally when quarterback Daniel Ruvolo completed a 39-yard scoring pass to Gilbert Guzman with 9:26 left in the game, cutting the deficit to 28-14.

Saddleback got the ball one last time, but defensive end Juan Carlos tackled Saddleback’s Aaron Pulsifer in the end zone with about two minutes left to give Santa Ana Valley a 30-14 lead.