PREP EXTRA: SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : Bautista’s Punt Return Sparks Santiago Victory
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GARDEN GROVE — Eric Bautista returned a fourth-quarter punt 48 yards for a touchdown to rally Santiago to a 20-14 victory over La Quinta in a Garden Grove League game Friday night at Garden Grove High.
Bautista fielded the ball on a bounce, broke a couple of tackles at the 45 and ran up the middle untouched the rest of the way to give the Cavaliers the lead for good with 9 minutes 3 seconds left in the game.
Bautista’s heroics followed a La Quinta stand that stopped Santiago on three plays inside the two.
Santiago (5-3, 3-1) drove 97 yards in 14 plays and scored on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Ben Tran to receiver Henry Gonzalez with 8:24 left in the second quarter.
The Aztecs (0-8, 0-4) took a 7-6 lead just before halftime on a 22-yard pass from Mike Daniels to Daniel Almazan.
La Quinta added to its lead on the first possession of the second half on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Almazan.
After Santiago’s Ceasar Soltero recovered a fumble at the Santiago 43-yard line, Victor Martinez ran it in from the three seven plays later to cut the lead to 14-12 with 5:40 left in the third quarter.
Santiago running back Octavio Villa rushed 28 times for a career-high 163 yards.
Jhamal Dawkins led La Quinta with 89 yards in 15 carries.
