Gonzalez Has a Rousing Return for Saddleback in 28-16 Victory

Saddleback welcomed Joel Gonzalez back to the lineup Friday at Santa Ana Stadium, and the Roadrunners gave him the ball early and often.

Gonzalez ran for 11 yards on the Roadrunners’ first play from scrimmage and he finished with 159 yards and two touchdowns in 32 carries to lead Saddleback past Santa Ana Valley, 28-16, in a nonleague game at Santa Ana Stadium.

Gonzalez returned to full-contact practice this week after recovering from a punctured lung after he was stabbed at a party Aug. 11.

“It felt great to be back out there,” Gonzalez said. “I missed it.”

And the Roadrunners missed their star running back, who rushed for 1,235 yards and scored 12 touchdowns last season.

Gonzalez and Miguel Sanchez, who rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown in 11 carries, led a bruising offense that finished with 274 yards rushing and took the pressure off reserve quarterback Roland Perez.

The junior took over for starter Ramon Saavedra, who was knocked out of the game late in the second quarter. Saavedra took a hit after throwing an incomplete pass after he had crossed the line of scrimmage.

With Saavedra out, the Roadrunners relied on their running.

“The line would rather block for Joel anyway,” Saddleback Coach Jerry Witte said.

Perez only attempted one pass in the Roadrunners’ 23 second-half plays, and Saddleback (1-2) still built its lead to 28-0, with its defense, helped by Kelly Talavou’s three sacks, keeping the Falcons off the scoreboard.

Santa Ana Valley (1-2) finally scored on its first play of the fourth quarter--a 61-yard pass from running back Maurice Dunning to Lance Johnson.

Johnson, who had six receptions for 109 yards, also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from James Burgueno with 25 seconds remaining, but the Falcons found their rhythm too late.

Burgueno completed 19 of 28 passes for 208 yards in the second half, and finished with 263 yards passing, completing 26 of 46 passes with no interceptions.

But he also had 11 incompletions in his first 15 attempts. Santa Ana Valley managed only 18 yards offense in the first quarter and fell behind, 14-0.

Said Falcon Coach Eddie Steward: “We just can’t wait until the second half to get things started.”