PREP FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Santiago Buries Century With Scoring Flurries

Santiago High used a couple of quick scoring spurts in the second and third quarters and turned a tight game into a 38-7 rout over Century in a season opener Saturday night at Garden Grove High.

Christian Aguirre scored three times for the Cavaliers, who entered the game wanting to prove that they deserved the No. 10 ranking in the county by The Times.

After falling behind early, the Cavaliers scored twice in a 52-second span late in the second quarter and twice more in a 47-second span late in the third.

Aguirre had touchdown runs of 15 and 23 yards and also recovered a fumble in the end zone.

His interception late in the third quarter set up his 23-yard touchdown run that gave Santiago a 31-7 lead with 2:21 left in the third.

“Some people out there think we’re not that good or don’t deserve to be ranked,” Aguirre said. “But we proved that we do belong tonight.”

Century, which was 2-8 last season, looked like the top team early.

The Centurion offense drove 58 yards in the first 11 plays, keyed by a seven-yard run by Fortino Rivera on fourth and four and capped by quarterback Gio Alcaraz’s one-yard sneak.

But the Cavaliers forced a punt, then used the second-quarter rally to take control.

“It was kind of rough at first,” Santiago Coach Ben Haley said. “Any time you let a team hang around like that, they get confidence. But we still played a good ballgame.”

Brandon Perry rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown in 20 carries for the Cavaliers and the Santiago defense held Century to 141 yards--12 in the second half.

Marcos Lua, Ituau Leauasoga and Nicholas Fitch each had two of Santiago’s eight sacks.

Rivera led the Century offense, rushing for 68 yards in 12 carries, but had just 12 yards rushing in the second half.