After Three Years, Anaheim Rings Western’s Bell

Luis Gomez had marked time since his first year at Anaheim High when he suffered what he considered one of his most humiliating experiences as a football player.

It was three years ago that Western snatched the Victory Bell, symbol of a longtime rivalry between the teams, from the Colonists.

So pardon Gomez if all he wanted to do after Anaheim’s 14-7 Orange League victory over host Western Thursday night was celebrate with his teammates at midfield as they jumped up and down, hugged each other and rang that bell long and loud to the delight of a small, but cheering crowd.

“They took it from me my freshman year. Now we got it back,” Gomez said.

Gomez was content to let his performance do the talking, maybe rightfully so. The senior quarterback, who earlier this year established a county passing yardage record, was sharp again against Western, completing 14 of 24 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 21 yards, meaning he had a hand in all but 22 of the Colonists’ 271 total yards.

Receiver Jesus Acevedo was Gomez’s favorite target, making six catches for 113 yards, including a five-yard touchdown toss on Anaheim’s third play from scrimmage.

A 44-yard pass from Gomez to Acevedo in the second quarter was the key play in a 70-scoring drive, which staked Anaheim to a 14-0 lead. Gomez capped the march with a three-yard draw for a score.

Resurgent Anaheim, which posted a 1-4 nonleague mark, has won two straight and is firmly in control of its playoff destiny, even if Coach Allen Carter downplayed the significance of the victory.

“We were lucky to sneak by these guys,” he said. “They were running all over us at the end.”

Hardly. The Colonists forced Western to punt five times, recovered two fumbles and Jerry Rojo intercepted a pass late in the game that sealed the victory.

Western, which got a 12-yard scoring toss from quarterback Jimmy Conway to split end Anthony Ortiz on the first play of the fourth quarter, has lost four of its last five. The Pioneers, who marched through the regular season unbeaten in 1995, are now 0-2 (1-5 overall) in Orange League play and face the prospect of playing their final three games on the road against teams which are considered playoff contenders.

For Anaheim, it was party time.

“We need to work on a lot of things,” Carter said. “We need to get better every game. But I’m happy for the kids. Western has had that bell for three years.”