Flat second half dooms Santa Ana in 51-33 loss to Kaiser despite 5-touchdown effort by McMorris

Saints running back Patrick McMorris runs for a gain against the Kaiser Cats. The senior ran for 275 yards in the losing effort. (Photos: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Santa Ana’s football team could not match up to the intensity and explosiveness of a talented Kaiser Cats team that took care of business in the third quarter, and suffered a 51-33 loss in the CIF Division 8 semifinals in Fontana on Friday night.

The Saints eight-game winning streak came to an end in a performance that was filled by miscues and turnovers.

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

Santa Ana captains (from left) Drew Ramirez, Julian Gomez, Nick Larriva and Zennen Flores represent the team for the coin flip.

Kaiser captains (from left) Lucas Mandujano, Joey Trejo, Eduardo Vazquez and Joshua Gonzalez head to the field for the coin toss.

Kaiser coach Bill Cardosi and Santa Ana Coach Charlie TeGantvoort meet before the game.

Kaiser players pep up before their CIF Southern Section Semifinal against Santa Ana.

The Santa Ana band made the trip to Fontana for the semifinals.

Santa Ana quarterback Julian Gomez drops back to pass Friday night.

Christian Hunter of Kaiser celebrates after his first touchdown of the night.

Drew Ramirez of Santa Ana tries to get around defenders Friday night.

Santa Ana quarterback Julian Gomez is stopped by the Kaiser defense.

Gabriel Ortiz of Kaiser hauls in a catch before the end of the first half.

Julian Gomez of Santa Ana tries to gain yards Friday night.

The Santa Ana band entertains the fans Friday night.

Patrick McMorris of Santa Ana tries to break a tackle Friday night.

Quarterback Trey Tribble breaks a tackle for Kaiser.

Santa Ana cheerleaders support their team in the semifinals.

Kaiser players celebrate the victory over Santa Ana.

“We did a lot of things this game that we haven’t done all year,” said Santa Ana Coach Charlie TeGantvoort. “You can’t make turnovers, you can’t have miscues in big games like this.  When two teams are real physical and real talented, whoever makes the less mistakes wins and Kaiser made the less mistakes and they deserve that victory. We had a lot of miscues and all those miscues really hurt us and you just can’t make  mistakes like that in a game like that against a very talented opponent.

“We were able to cash in on those turnovers,” said Kaiser Coach Bill Cardosi. “We’re a lot like Santa Ana with the same demographics. We were just able to hold up and pull away. We’ve been determined. This group of kids, when they were sophomores, they understood that we were 3-7-1 and people were saying Kaiser was on the decline. And they took it personal. We talked about the tradition of the school, all the league championships, the three CIF championships, and this senior class said ‘it’s not going to be us, we want Kaiser to be back’ and they’ve done that and it starts in the classroom.”

Despite taking the lead early in the first quarter when senior running back Patrick McMorris scored the first of his five touchdowns, the third-seeded Saints (10-3) turned the ball over three times in the second half, gave up a safety and trailed 51-20 in the fourth quarter.

The Cats (12-1) were led by senior running back Christian Hunter who accumulated 207 rushing yards on 30 carries for three touchdowns, two of them in the second half.

“I have to give it all to our defense,” Hunter said. “We pulled together because of our defense. I just believe in myself and my team believes in me.”

Hunter’s performance was complemented by teammate Mo Wright, who had two touchdowns on four carries and accumulated 73 yards rushing.

The Saints trailed 21-13 going into the third quarter and after forcing the Cats to punt the ball in the opening possession of the third quarter seemed to have an opportunity to get into the game. In the ensuing drive a mishandled snap by Santa Ana quarterback Julian Gómez allowed Kaiser to recover the ball in Santa Ana territory. A few plays later, Hunter extended the home team’s lead 28-13.

Santa Ana seemed to have a chance to get back in the game in the closing stages of the third quarter when McMorris punched in from the 1-yard-line to make it a one score game 28-20. McMorris finished the night with 275 yards on the ground.

“We couldn’t capitalize in the third quarter,” McMorris said. “We dug ourselves a hole that we couldn’t get out of. We should have made it farther, but it is what it is.”

The Cats were able to clinch the game in the fourth quarter when their defense pressed the Saints to make mistakes and turn the ball over. It was there where game management became a factor and the home team pounded the ball to an already worn out defense.

Kaiser quarterback Trey Tribble rushed for 63 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and was 3 for 7 passing, including a touchdown pass to Scott Chavez in the second quarter.

McMorris scored two touchdowns (including a 70- yard run) in the closing stages of the game to shorten the deficit, but the game was out of reach for the Saints.

The Cats will now travel to Arcadia to face the Apaches, who defeated Alta Loma 62-27 in the other semifinal in the CIF Southern Section Division 8 Championship game.

-Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone