Rush-Oriented Santa Ana Meets Division Passing Leader Golden West

Golden West and Santa Ana, coming off encouraging performances, meet at 1 p.m. today at Santa Ana Stadium in a Mission Conference Central Division football game.

The difference in last Saturday’s performances? Santa Ana came away with a victory and Golden West didn’t.

Santa Ana quarterback Archie Lappin passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more as the Dons beat Palomar, 38-21.

John Frank, Golden West’s quarterback, was 25 of 52 for 331 yards (all career-best numbers); however, the Rustlers lost to Saddleback, 36-24.

Saddleback led, 22-18, to start the fourth quarter.

Santa Ana comes in as the division’s best rushing team (180 yards per game) and its worst in passing (122). Golden West is the opposite as the Rustlers are tops in passing at 253 and last in rushing at 18.

In other division games:

Fullerton (2-2, 0-0) at Riverside (2-2, 1-0), 7 p.m.--This game will mark the return of sophomore wide receiver Anthony Scott and reserve quarterback Terry Hess for Fullerton. Scott, who had 23 catches for 275 yards and five touchdowns last season, missed all four games this season because of a broken collarbone. Hess has been out about three weeks because of a bladder infection.

Palomar (1-3, 0-1) at Orange Coast (0-4, 0-1), 7 p.m.--Palomar has lost three in a row and OCC’s losing streak is 12. But OCC is coming off a mostly solid offensive performance in a 31-14 loss to Riverside. The Pirates had 20 first downs to Riverside’s 11 and outgained the Tigers, 353 to 284.

In a conference game:

Saddleback (3-1) at Long Beach (5-0), 7 p.m.--Long Beach is ranked third in the state and Saddleback eighth. The last two times these teams met, the outcome was decided in the game’s final minute. Last season, Saddleback got a touchdown and a two-point conversion to win, 29-28.