Rancho Alamitos Enters League Play Without Missing Beat

Rancho Alamitos opened Garden Grove League play Friday night in much the same manner the Vaqueros plowed through their nonleague schedule.

The county’s sixth-ranked team was dominant, scoring on its first four possessions en route to a 41-0 victory over Garden Grove at Bolsa Grande High.

The Vaqueros (4-0, 1-0), the top-ranked team in the Southern Section Division VIII poll, have outscored opponents, 146-20, this year, rolling up more than 420 yards per game, and giving up only 160. Friday’s victory ran their regular-season winning streak to 16 consecutive games.

In typical Rancho Alamitos style, the Vaqueros did their damage on the ground with the senior trio of Alex Blanco, David Vickers and Ralph Sakaria. Blanco rushed for 146 yards in 17 carries and scored a touchdown. Vickers had 119 yards in 15 carries and scored three times. Sakaria, primarily a blocking back, had two 19-yard gains, one for a touchdown, and finished with 40 yards.

“We’re 4-0, and that’s the next plateau we were reaching for,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Doug Case said. “Our offense and defense both executed extremely well in the first half, and our offensive line dominated. We’ll look at the film, and come back next week and go for 5-0.”

An eight-yard run by Vickers and a 47-yard burst up the middle by Blanco gave the Vaqueros an early 14-0 lead. Rancho Alamitos then took advantage of a Garden Grove fumble that set up a 35-yard Vickers touchdown run, and the defending league champions led, 20-0, before the end of the first quarter.

A hundred and four yards in penalties couldn’t stop the Vaqueros, who scored a touchdown on a third-quarter drive despite being whistled for six penalties along the way.

Garden Grove (1-3, 0-1) gained only 69 yards of offense, much of it against Vaquero reserves, and never got inside the Rancho 30. Rancho Alamitos has not given up a point in its last 104 minutes.