Taylor’s Take
The Saddleback Gaucho football team made a statement to the rest of the state- it is not intimidated or afraid of any certain opponent that is a worthy adversary or a team that has given them trouble in the past.
My good friend, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Steve Crapo, told me that Santa Ana has always played the Gauchos tough and given them trouble before.
Despite missing key players to injury, Saddleback was again sold in every area in Saturday’s 35-14 victory over Santa Ana.
What I liked in this game, especially by the players who were helping the team because of injuries, was every time the Dons made a play and cut into the Gaucho lead, Saddleback responded with a scoring drive of their own and never let Santa Ana really get back into the game.
The offense got the lead, the defense tamed the opponent’s offense enough, and the whole team did what they needed to do to preserve the victory.
The victory set up a showdown with Mt. SAC next week with a lot on the line for playoff implications!
If the Gauchos can continue this winning formula, they can maybe set up a rematch with El Camino and anything can happen come playoff time!