Chang’s 5 Touchdowns Help Buena Roll, 35-21

Buena High tailback Johnny Chang will be sore in the morning but he doesn’t care.

With star tailback George Keiaho sidelined because of a knee injury, Chang led the Bulldogs’ offense Friday night as Buena defeated Channel League rival San Marcos, 35-21, at Ventura High.

Chang ran for 274 yards in 44 carries and scored five touchdowns. His durability meant most late in the game, when Chang was handed the ball on 10 consecutive plays, gaining 80 yards. He capped the drive with a 29-yard score to clinch the victory for Buena (7-2, 6-0 in league play).

“I’m going to be sore. I’m not used to this kind of workload,” Chang said. “But George will be back next week and I’ll go back to backing him up.”

San Marcos (4-5, 4-2) was led by tailback Aaron Molinar, who gained 116 yards in 24 carries and scored once.

But Chang’s effort dwarfed those numbers.

Keiaho, the second-leading rusher in state history, was questionable before the game but watched in street clothes, still recovering from the injury suffered last week.

On the first play of the game, Nathan Ridgell returned the kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to give San Marcos an early lead.

On the Bulldogs’ first drive, Chang fumbled twice, but he recovered both bobbles. He finished with scoring runs of one, one, 12, eight and 29 yards.

“I planned to get him the ball a lot. I knew he had the ability,” Buena Coach Rick Scott said.

Chang dominated the Buena offense in the first half, touching the ball on 27 of 37 offensive plays.

Bulldog quarterback Jaime Henard, making his second start of the season, completed seven of 13 passes for 95 yards with two interceptions.