Kick-off nears! Santa Ana and Orange football coaches excited about league showdown

Quarterbacks Hype Grand (Orange) and Sergio Torres (Santa Ana) both competed in last year’s rivalry game. (Photos and Illustration: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

(Third in a series of previews for Friday’s game)

Head football coaches from Santa Ana and Orange are looking forward to Friday night’s Orange Coast League showdown at Fred Kelly Stadium.

Santa Ana (7-2, 5-0) has already clinched a share of the title but could win it outright with a win Friday. Orange (5-4, 4-1) can clinch a share of the crown with a victory. St. Margaret’s could also share the crown if Orange beats Santa Ana and the Tartans defeat Calvary Chapel.

“The game should be a great match-up and exciting to watch,” said Santa Ana Coach Rory Schoonmaker this week. “You can definitely see that Orange is finding their groove at the right time. For us, our biggest keys to success this week are simple and frankly a little cliché:  pursue, tackle and block. If we can manage to do these things well, I think we can make this a competitive game on Friday. 

“Orange is big, physical, and plays well within their scheme, particularly their offensive and defensive lines. They are a group with great size and skill, this will be a very good match up in the trenches. Working to match their physicality up front on a down-by-down basis will be critical to our success this week.”

Schoonmaker pointed out that tight end Wesley Lundell, quarterback Hype Grand and running back Ardwon Morris, who scored seven TDs in a game against Estancia, are players to watch for the Panthers.  

“Offensively, they have run the ball extremely well all year, but their passing game has also made a lot of progress over the past few weeks,” he said. “Lundell has emerged as one of our league’s better young wide receivers (sophomore), he is an excellent athlete and does a lot for them on both sides of the ball.  Having a versatile quarterback makes them dangerous through the air and on the ground, Hype does a great job balancing the offense and keeping level two players accountable with the RPO (run-pass-offense) game.

“All of that being said Morris and the offensive line is definitely the engine that has been making that offense go as of late. Morris is built like a tank, very rarely is he brought down by a single tackler and if he finds a straight line, he has the speed to win a footrace to the end zone. It will be extremely important for our guys pursue and get as many bodies to the ball as possible.”

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Santa Ana also has some talented players, including running back Charles Hughes, who has scored five touchdowns in a game twice this season along with quarterback Sergio Torres and receiver Cristian Ramos.

“Offensively, we are going to work to maintain efficiency,” Schoonmaker said. “I believe this will be Sergio Torres’s 31st varsity start; his experience, leadership, and knowledge of the offense really helps everyone else settle into their roles around him with confidence.

“I will be interested to see what Charles Hughes does with a full workload this week, we have really limited his touches over the past four weeks to keep him healthy for the long haul. I know he is chomping at the bit for more potential carries this week.  Another guy I know is hungry for some more touches is Cristian Ramos; because of situations we have been in we have had limited opportunities over the past month or so to get him as many targets as we would like.

“We do preach a balanced approach to the game offensively so getting our receiving core involved is usually an emphasis.

“Defensively, it will be an alignment and assignment type of approach for us. What Sergio gives our offense in terms of direction and leadership, Jose Martinez gives our defense. Having everyone in the correct position, doing the correct job is going to be our best opportunity to slow this Orange offense down.”

Orange Coach Robert Pedroza said he’s been happy with the development of his squad, led by Grand, who is effective running and passing.

 “Hype is amazing, he’s a dual threat quarterback and he’s been able to throw the ball with some success lately and he’s a big part of that and Wesley Lundell is a big-time receiver,” Pedroza said after a recent game.

Pedroza said Morris, the leading rusher in Orange County with 1,786 yards, has been a great leader and a hard worker on the team.

“He’s done it all year,” Pedroza said after the senior had his big night vs. Estancia.

Pedroza said he is looking forward to the game with Santa Ana.

“It’s always a great match-up,” he said. “They’re always a good team, well coached and they’ve got great players over there so we’re always looking forward to that. Everybody looks forward to week 10 with Santa Ana. It’s going to be fun and a great game and it’s a great opponent. “

Pedroza said a league title is “always one of the goals but obviously to make the playoffs and get a chance to make a run at a CIF title has always been the biggest goal here and what we try and pride ourselves on here. Just getting a chance to get back in any division and having a chance to run that is what you play for and coach for.”

Orange has won the last two league titles and has captured four CIF titles, the last one coming in 2017 when the Panthers won the Division 13 crown.

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Countdown begins for Santa Ana vs. Orange league showdown at Fred Kelly Stadium

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com