Gaucho football team brings home final victory 37-22
Saddleback College’s football team scored one last victory Saturday evening as they defeated Golden West College, 37-22. The Gauchos’ record is now 5-5 and they have become bowl-eligible. This is the third consecutive season Saddleback has made it to a bowl game and the second straight season with five losses in the regular season.
The Gauchos led 20-0 at halftime. They heightened the score to 30-0 in the third quarter before taking their foot off the gas and eventually giving up 22 points in the second half. In spite of the fact that it was Golden West’s homecoming game, the Gauchos came away with a big win.
“I thought we played pretty well the first half. Offensively, we were moving the ball up and down at will. The second half there was just a slight defensive lapse for about seven or eight minutes that allowed Golden West to get back into the game,” said coach Kevin Schick. “We pulled through and came away with a huge ‘W’ and that gave us another opportunity to play another game in a bowl game.”
Quarterback Ricky Bautista threw 147 yards and had two touchdown passes before being taken out of the game to give backup Anthony Berg some snaps in what had become a blowout. Sophomore, wide receiver, Christopher Dimry had a big day, catching five passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore, running back, Drake Griffin also had a good day, scoring two touchdowns and getting 69 yards overall.
Saddleback will now move to play a bowl game. The opponent and date of the game have not yet been announced.
“This game really goes to show that if you stick together as a team, play hard, you can overcome any odds,” sophomore, offensive lineman, Tyler Wilemon said. “This is just a great team win. The defense played a heck of a game, offense scored some points. I’m just glad to see we got a win, and hopefully we’ll get the bowl win.”