Gaucho football tramples Rams at homecoming
The Saddleback College football team raised its record to 4-0 with a 48-14 victory against Victor Valley. (Alyssa Hunter)
The Gauchos defeated the Victor Valley Rams 48-14 last Saturday in a highlight filled homecoming game.
Before the game started, there was some entertainment for the family, friends, and fans of the Gauchos. Rad Science, a disc jockey, also played music for the surrounding fans.
Food trucks were selling dinner, and the Sea Salt Candy Company was selling dessert. The Children’s Hospital of Orange County was also accepting donations.
Since it was homecoming, players and coaches were a little more pumped up than usual, but at the end of the day, they understand that it is all about winning.
Coach Steve Crapo said, “Homecoming is in the back of our minds, but the most important thing for us is to focus on our opponent Victor Valley, and come out and execute.”
Gray shirt freshman, Keith Hartwell Jr., 18, computer science said, “What’s more exciting is where we’re at right now. We’re number four in the nation.”
The Gauchos defense needed to show up in order to make a big impact and ultimately win this game. “Our goal is to always stop the run first, but we really need to contain that quarterback.” Crapo said. “On any given day at the community college level, you can get beat by anybody.”
When the Rams played their last game, Riverside defeated them with a score of 73-7 at the end of the game.
“We respect our opponents, and we respect the team that’s going to come in here and show themselves and us that they are an a lot better team than the one that showed up last week.” Crapo said.
With a close game, it wasn’t until late in the second quarter at a score of Gauchos 10, Rams 7, that Saddleback would start to extend the lead and never look back.
Gauchos’ Quarterback, Ben Gomez threw a touchdown to Terrell Johnson with 6:52 left in the second to make the score 17-7.
A field goal was made making the score 20-7, and the gauchos made a successful interception with forty-one seconds left in the second quarter.
Wide Receiver for the Gauchos, Sean Sierra injured his leg and had to be carted off of the field.
At halftime, the score was 20-7. The cheerleaders came out and did their routines, and Chick-fil-A let two Saddleback athletes kick field goals for chicken sandwiches. Together, they received 20 free chicken sandwiches.
The second half was all Gauchos. Ben Gomez threw two more touchdown passes. A 58-yard catch to Rodney Woodland, and a short pass to Anthony Cade, which led to a 77-yard breakaway for a touchdown.
Gomez broke a Saddleback passing record, throwing for 478-yards, according to the announcers. He completed 32 of 51 passes for a 62 percent completion rating, and he also threw three touchdowns with no interceptions.
“Ben is a really good quarterback because he is so accurate with his throws.” Hartwell Jr. said. “Not starting since the tenth grade was a good thing, because now he plays with a chip on his shoulder, and he plays a lot harder.”
Saddleback’s defense allowed the Rams to gather up 200 rushing yards, but 70 of them was on one carry by running back JaQuor Williams for a touchdown.
Freshman Terrell Johnson finished the game with 137-yards and a touchdown off of ten receptions, Rodney Woodland finished with 98-yards and a touchdown off of six receptions, and Anthony Cade finished with 96 yards and a touchdown off of two receptions. Keith Lawson racked up 69 rushing yards and a touchdown off of 11 carries.
Trent Von Yokes, Jake Johnston, and Kyle Smith all had seven tackles, and Von Yokes also had an interception for 33 yards. Saddleback’s record improved to 4-0, and they hope to make it 5-0 against Cerritos College on Saturday, Oct. 1.
“We need to improve on our mental aspect and treat every team like they are top contenders.” Hartwell Jr. said.
Hartwell Jr. and several supporting fans hope that a national title is achievable. Hartwell Jr. said, “We could definitely make nationals. Mt. Sac. is the only team in California that has a shot at beating us.”