Rancho Alamitos Finds a Winning Connection

Senior Mike Bertelson caught two touchdown passes from quarterback George Gonzalez to lead Rancho Alamitos to a 26-12 nonleague victory over Santa Ana Valley Thursday night at Bolsa Grande High.

Bertelson caught a 71-yard pass in the second quarter, giving Rancho Alamitos a 14-0 lead. Minutes later he had a 27-yard reception to give Rancho Alamitos a 20-0 halftime lead. Bertelson finished with five receptions for 123 yards.

Gonzalez completed eight of 13 passes for 123 yards and the two touchdowns.

The Vaqueros’ defense came up big, stopping the Falcons on three drives inside the Rancho Alamitos 20-yard line.

Senior Anthony Huizar opened the scoring for the Vaqueros with a 38-yard run and converted the two-point conversion for an 8-0 first-quarter lead.

Santa Ana Valley scored both its touchdowns in the final quarter, capped by Aaron Barragon’s 76-yard punt return.

In other nonleague games:

Edison 54, Cypress 23--Edison’s Darin Pope gained 228 yards in 32 carries and the Chargers jumped to a 34-0 halftime lead at Huntington Beach High.

Pope rushed for 144 yards in the first half and accounted for three of the five first-half touchdowns for Edison. He scored on runs of five and 25 yards and caught a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jason Kripavicius.

Pope also had plays of 73 yards and 36 yards called back because of penalties.

Edison’s Jae Sohn finished the half with a 56-yard interception return for a touchdown.

In his first varsity start, Kripavicius threw for three touchdowns, including a 56-yarder to Jeff Kadau in the first quarter.

Quarterback Jeff Crooks passed for 220 yards and two touchdowns for Cypress.

Katella 13, Ocean View 0--Chris Walters scored two rushing touchdowns to lead visiting Katella at Westminster High.

Katella’s Francis Johnson, the county’s 10th-leading rusher in 1997, was the main focus of the Seahawk defense and it kept the senior running back out of the end zone. He gained 112 yards in 29 carries.

Walters’ 13-yard touchdown gave Katella a 7-0 lead in the first quarter before defenses set the tone for the rest of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Ocean View had the ball with a chance to drive for a tying touchdown but fumbled it away at the Katella 30-yard line. Twelve plays and almost six minutes later, Walters scored from four yards.