King, Santa Ana Smash Long Beach

Cameron King missed most of Santa Ana’s previous game because of a sore shoulder.

But he more than made up for it Saturday, twisting and knifing through Long Beach’s defense for 271 yards and four touchdowns as the Dons beat the host Vikings, 45-10, in a Mission Conference football game.

King, a 5-foot-8 sophomore, scored on runs of one, 19, 21 and 23 yards. His 21-yard run was his 40th and final carry of the game. It came with 8 minutes 55 seconds to play and gave Santa Ana a 38-10 lead.

He left the game 17 yards short of Santa Ana’s single-game record set by Tramel Robinson in 1997.

“I didn’t expect to have that good of a game,” said King, who has 696 yards this season. “I had expected to have to get tough yards. But after the first run, I knew it was going to be a good night.”

Santa Ana enters the conference’s bye week with a three-game winning streak that started after a 61-10 loss to Mt. San Antonio.

The Dons started the streak with a 52-6 victory over Orange Coast followed by a 38-31 victory at El Camino, which bounced back Saturday to beat Palomar, the top-ranked team in the nation, 56-45.

“It’s awesome,” Santa Ana Coach Dave Ogas said. “This is just a great group of kids and they are working so hard.”

Santa Ana (3-2) also got a great effort from its defense, which limited Long Beach (3-2) to 48 yards rushing and 10 first downs.

Santa Ana finished with 313 yards rushing and 23 first downs.

Defensive back Alex Bianco had one of three Santa Ana interceptions. He grabbed a deflected pass and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown with 13 seconds left in the game.

Alex Romero and Ray Sanchez also had interceptions and Joey Gipson tackled Long Beach punter Jamie Ashley after a poor snap, giving Santa Ana a first down at the Long Beach four.

King scored three plays later to give the Dons a 24-3 lead with 8:48 left in the third quarter.