Takahashi Wins Debut at Los Amigos : Football: Lobos hold off a depleted Century squad, 20-7, in season opener.

Greg Fausto rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns--the last a 27-yard romp with slightly more than six minutes left to play--as Los Amigos turned away a stubborn Century squad, 20-7, in front of an estimated 300 at Santa Ana Stadium.

Still, the Lobos could have made for an easier debut for new Coach Roger Takahashi, although it was a winning one.

The Los Amigos defense overpowered a patchwork Centurion offensive line--Century was short two starters coming in and another sprained a knee midway through the second half--limiting their running game to only 36 yards. Century was held to 146 total yards. Los Amigos had 355 total yards.

Quarterback Ape Tuato, who scored the other Lobo touchdown on a 27-yard, first-quarter burst, passed for 196 yards and kept the offense moving forward. And he also directed touchdown drives after the two Century turnovers--interceptions by Gabe Cieneros and Shaun Tagatauli.

But Los Amigos had 115 yards in penalties. And the Lobos lost a pair of potential touchdowns; a Tuato pass was intercepted in the end zone by Vibol Ros in the third quarter, and the Centurions held strong on fourth-and-one on their goal line in the fourth quarter.

“We are in need of a lot of polish,” said Takahashi, who admitted to being nervous before the game. “We’ve got some green kids and some specialty team problems that need time to be adjusted. But we should be all right.

“Credit Century for the battle they gave us. We had our opportunities. It didn’t have to be that close.”

Century Coach Bill Brown--still looking for his first opening victory in his sixth season--concurred. “We knew this kind of game could happen, and were lucky to be as close as we were for so long. They’ve got a good team, as good a Los Amigos team as we’ve played. They can play with a lot of good teams.

Tuato capped the Lobos’ initial possession in the first quarter with his scoring run that started through a hole through right tackle, then proceeded to the sidelines.

But Century responded swiftly. Beau Wallace highlighted Century’s one sustained drive of the game (66 yards, eight plays) by blasting through the right side of the Los Amigos defense for an 11-yard touchdown, tying the score.

Los Amigos went back in front to stay in the second quarter when Fausto slipped into the end zone from two yards out.