Rancho Alamitos Rises to Occasion for Victory

Rancho Alamitos continued to gear up for Garden Grove League play with a 21-6 victory over Magnolia Friday at Bolsa Grande High.

The Vaqueros (2-0) had been besieged by penalties in a 9-0 season-opening victory over Westminster, but were flagged only twice Friday. Rancho Alamitos did turn the ball over four times, but overcame that with an impressive defense and a 194-yard passing performance by Daniel Green.

“[Magnolia] did a pretty good job covering [top receiver Maurice Garcia], but we adjusted and the other guy came through,” first-year Vaquero Coach Mike Enright said.

The “other guy,” Fidel Carrillo, caught seven passes for 133 yards, a key performance since Garcia was limited to 17 receiving yards on five catches.

Rancho Alamitos led, 7-0, at halftime on the strength of a four-yard scoring pass from Green to Garcia. The Vaqueros drove into Magnolia territory on all six of their first-half possessions, but turned the ball over twice, missed a field goal and turned the ball over on downs.

Green completed 16 of 20 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Brian San Agustin accounted for the other Vaquero score as he intercepted a Magnolia lateral with two minutes left and sprinted 60 yards to give the hosts a 21-6 lead.

The Rancho Alamitos defense limited Magnolia to 177 yards and has not allowed a touchdown through two games. The only Magnolia (0-2) touchdown came on a 46-yard interception return by Dennis Smith.

“I’m pretty happy. We’re 2-0 and this team won three games all of last year,” Enright said. “We’ve got a tough one next week against Western and then we jump into league.”