Orange football team cruises past Saddleback 62-0 in league opener

Orange Mayor Teresa Smith, one of the honorary captains, gives a pep talk to the Panthers after Saturday night’s victory over Saddleback.

Orange’s football team exploded for 28 points in the second quarter and rolled to a 62-0 victory over Saddleback in the Orange Coast League opener for both teams Saturday night at Fred Kelly Stadium.

To see the slide show, please click on the first photo.

The Panthers (5-1, 1-0) and Santa Ana are expected to battle for the league title and Orange displayed why Saturday night.

“We wanted to try and move the ball around a little and work on our passing game,” said Orange Coach Robert Pedroza. “I’m glad we had some good numbers with that.

“I like the way we’re going; we’re on a nice little win streak but we have a lot of little mistakes that need to be corrected in practice, especially the penalties and getting our passing attack going. You have to have a passing attack in this league and this division. You have to be able to do both: run and pass. We definitely need to work on things in practice and get better.”

Quarterback Daylen Pedroza passed for 195 yards and two touchdowns to lead Orange to its fifth consecutive victory. Junior running back Andrew Andrade led the rushing attack with 112 yards, including a 76-yard TD run in the third quarter which put Orange ahead 41-0.

“Honestly, it all started last week against Irvine High School (a 52-15 victory for the Panthers),” Andrade said. “It’s all about watching film. We were happy how we did last week and we just brought it into this week. We knew what we had to do.

“I just have to give it all to my O-line. They made the blocks for me and I just ran the holes.”

Dylan Moses helped Orange jump to a 6-0 lead when he scored on a 35-yard TD run. Jeremiah Rivera then scored on a 10-yard TD run to make it 12-0.

Orange extended its lead to 20-0 when Bryan Fausto intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. Orange made a 2-point conversion.

Miguel Orendain Jr. had an 8-yard TD run and Syrius Soakai hauled in a 10-yard TD pass from Pedroza to make it 34-0 at halftime.

The second half was played with a running clock as agreed by both coaches.

Orendain also hauled in a 54-yard TD pass from Pedroza in the third quarter.

Orendain Jr. and Soakai each had 77 receiving yards.

Running back Hector Marin led Saddleback (1-5, 0-1) rushing for 38 yards.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone