Rancho Alamitos Shuts Out Bolsa Grande

Rancho Alamitos defeated La Quinta, 21-0, Thursday at Bolsa Grande High in a Garden Grove League opener, but it was the losing coach, Guy Gardner, who was most upbeat after the game.

The Aztecs (1-3, 0-1 in league) had dropped a 69-12 decision to Rancho Alamitos in their 1999 season finale, so shutting out the Vaqueros (3-1, 1-0) for 2 1/2 quarters and holding them to 201 yards in the game was an accomplishment.

Rancho Alamitos managed only 23 net yards in the first half before scoring on consecutive possessions in the third quarter.

A 36-yard completion from Daniel Green to Maurice Garcia set up Brian San-Agustin for a five-yard reverse and the game’s first score with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Two plays later, Garcia made the first of his two interceptions to set up a 31-yard scoring pass play from Green to Fidel Carrillo. The Vaqueros scored again in the fourth quarter when Ikaika Maliga went in from 10 yards.

“We played our game plan on defense: We moved some people around and created some confusion for the offense,” Gardner said.