ORANGE LEAGUE : Savanna Shows Mettle by Beating Anaheim

It’s about time Savanna found out what it was made of.

Needing a victory to clinch a Division VI playoff berth, the Rebels did something they had not done all season.

They beat a team with a winning record.

Their 48-20 victory over Anaheim (5-5, 2-3 in the Orange League), a team that has beaten some of the county’s top teams, clinched third place in the league.

Savanna is 8-2, 3-2, but it wasn’t until it beat Anaheim for the final playoff spot that it won a game with any real implications.

“This was a big game for us,” Savanna Coach Fred DiPalma said. “Every week we tell the kids, that, but No. 1, this was for the playoffs, and No. 2, for our confidence.

“Winning always makes it easier to be confident.”

The confidence began to show early as Savanna scored on its first two series and on three of its first four, taking advantage of superior field position throughout the first half.

“I think we were scared of losing our playoff berth,” said senior Rani Kahouch.

Kahouch entered sharing the county lead in receptions (48 for a county-high 771 yards), and he added five more for 87 yards. He scored the game’s second touchdown on a 33-yard pass from Paul Waldrop--the county’s second-leading passer--and his interception set up Savanna’s third touchdown, which made it 21-7 at halftime.

Waldrop completed seven of 11 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns, including a 64-yard screen play to junior Mike Flores.

Flores had a big night, also scoring on a 49-yard run.

He wasn’t the only one to find the end zone from long distance. Daven King scored on a 55-yarder in the second half.

“I don’t know why our kids weren’t ready,” Anaheim Coach Todd Borowksi said. “I have no words to describe our peformance.”

Overmatched would be one.

The defense held Anaheim’s Reuben Droughns, the county rushing leader, to 94 yards in 23 carries. He added only one touchdown to the 14 he had scored this season.

Canhhuy Nguyen led Savanna’s ground game, rushing 14 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns, from 33 and one yard.

The battle was won in the first half as Savanna forged its 21-7 halftime lead.

King’s 29-yard punt return set up the first score, Nguyen’s 33-yarder on the Rebels’ fourth play.

The defense allowed three yards before forcing a punt. The Rebel offense took a 14-0 lead with a four-play, 54-yard drive, Kahouch scoring from 33.

Anaheim responded with a 16-play, 80-yard drive, converting three third-down situations along the way, that culminated in Droughns’ seven-yard score.