Gauchos emerge victorious against Hornets
If offense is your favorite part of any sport, this Football match between Saddleback and Fullerton would have left you satisfied. On Saturday night Fullerton played host to Saddleback in a contest which saw 73 points scored over the four quarters. The 73 points were attributed by five touchdowns by Saddleback and two by Fullerton, Saddleback primarily relied on it’s passing game, while Fullerton relied on it’s running game. Tim Belman went 38 for 58 with one interception, for arguably the best game of his season, Belman acquired a total of 445 yards throughout the contest, while his opposing quarterback Conor Bednarski went 20 for 47 with three interceptions for a total of 326 yards. The Freshman Eric Lauderdale, (Belman’s primary receiver of the contest) had two touchdowns and acquired 191 yards for his effort, nearly half of what he had amassed during the first five games, Lauderdale now leads the Gauchos in total receiving yards. While the game was heavy in offense, the real brow raising statistic was the amount of field goals kicked. Ryan Steska kicked three field goals, his longest a 31 yard attempt for the Gauchos, while Jesse Aguilar kicked five for Fullerton his longest a 45 yard attempt. (a tying record for a Fullerton kicker) Credit must be given to the Gauchos defense for keeping the Hornets at bay, by catching three interceptions and keeping Fullerton out of the end zone for the majority of the game. Possession time was nearly even with Saddleback claiming 30:31 and Fullerton for 29:29. Though Saddleback had 31 first downs, the Gauchos continue to struggle on conversions going six for fifteen on third down, and one for three on the fourth down attempts.
Saddleback will look to continue their short winning streak this Saturday at Saddleback Stadium as the Pirates come into town. Orange Coast College holds a 3-4 record and is on a three game losing streak, a streak that the Gauchos will need to extend if they look to bounce back from the disappointing start of their season. This game is also the second to last home game of the season for the Gauchos, so you can expect that they will be looking to finish strong in front of their home crowd. Game time is 6PM on Saturday, Oct. 20th.