Saints quarterback Julian Gomez scrambles his way into the end zone for Santa Ana’s final touchdown of the first half.
Santa Ana High’s football team could have been easily distracted by what allegedly happened at a football game at Aliso Niguel last week and the national attention that followed.
But the Saints came out focused and ready to play Thursday night, defeating Woodbridge 40-21 at Santa Ana Valley to improve their record to 3-2.
To see the slide show, please click on the first photo
Almost a week ago, according to reports in the Orange County Register, Santa Ana principal Jeff Bishop claimed that Santa Ana’s football players and students were subjected to racially insensitve signs at the game in Aliso Viejo. Aliso Niguel officials responded that those signs were taken down once they were spotted and disputed some of Bishop’s claims.
The story was the talk on social media throughout the week.
Thursday night, the Saints seemed to want to put that behind and just talk about football.
“I was so happy to find out that we were focused and we were ready to play for each other and I couldn’t be more proud of the guys,” said Santa Ana Coach Charlie TeGantvoort. “The statement we made tonight is that when we focus and play hard for each other we can beat anybody.”
TeGantvoort was asked about the affect of the alleged incidents a week earlier. But declined to talk about it specifically.
“Our boys are great,” he said. “They focused really on themselves and playing hard for each other. And that’s why we’re proud of them. That’s why we focus on football.”
As for whether there were discussions of what allegedly happened among the team, he said, “Not on the field. We keep football on the field just where it should be.”
Santa Ana, ranked 10th in the CIF Division 8 poll this week, was led by quarterback Julian Gomez who passed for 153 yards and three touchdowns. He also had two rushing touchdowns and rushed for 77 yards.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my quarterback and how he does and how he plays and our D-line and O-line,” TeGantvoort said. “It was great. We have a lot of great two-way players. They’re tired and they keep going and that’s a testament to their character.”
“I liked how we came out, we came out with a little more energy,” Gomez said. “The line pushed well, it was good.”
Saints receiver Drew Ramirez also stood out with seven catches for 84 yards and two TD catches.
“We just came out and we knew we had to prove a point coming off of two losses,” he said. “So we just worked hard all week. We knew we had to produce today.”
Woodbridge (2-3) was victimized by two fumbles and an interception, which led to the first three scores by Santa Ana.
“It was just ugly from the get-go,” said Woodbridge Coach Rick Gibson. “I don’t have any answers for that one. That was just a stinky one. I’ll give them credit. They took the opportunities they got and scored right away. I don’t take anything away from them. They outcoached us and outplayed us and out-every-thinged us.
“I’m just disappointed to end (the pre-season) on that kind of a note. That was not very good.”
The Warriors fumbled on their first possession and Santa Ana cashed in the turnover when Gomez connected with Ramirez on a 9-yard TD catch.
Later in the quarter, the Warriors fumbled again and the Saints cashed it in on Gomez 1-yard TD run.
Santa Ana made it 20-0 when Gomez hit Ramirez on an 18-yard TD pass.
Woodbridge got on the scoreboard when Elyjah Rush scored on a 66-yard touchdown out of the wildcat formation, cutting the lead to 20-7.
But Santa Ana dominated the rest of the way.
Gomez had a 4-yard TD run and in the third quarter Gomez connected with Nick Larriva on a 60-yard TD pass to make it 34-7.
Hurry had a 1-yard TD run and Arriel Eaves hauled in a 40-yard TD pass from Hurry in the final minutes. Hurry passed for 116 yards with one interception. Jacob Nash had 10 catches for 65 yards.
Rush wound up with 93 yards rushing.
STATS
Wood      0  7  0  14   –  21
Santa Ana  13 14 7  6    –  40
RUSHING: Wood Rush 9-93, Hurry 11-39; Santa Ana Gomez 9-77, Ramirez 7-37.
PASSING: Wood Hurry 17-29-1, 116 yards, 1 TD; Santa Ana Gomez 9-13-0, 153 yards, 3 TDs.
RECEIVING: Wood Nash 10-65, Rush 2-11, Manalili 2-11, Santa Ana Ramirez 7-84, Larriva 1-60.
-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone
More Stories
Santa Ana football coach Rory Schoonmaker resigns to accept job at El Segundo
Crean Lutheran football team begins preparing for new challenges in 2024
Moving tributes highlight celebration of life for football coach Terry Henigan