Running back Mike Carrillo, the top rusher in Orange County, leads Garden Grove into Thursday night’s game with Segerstrom for the Big 4 League title. (Photos courtesy Garden Grove football).
Garden Grove’s football team has already had quite a season.
Now the Argonauts are hoping to end the regular season with a victory and capture the championship of the new Big Four League.
To see the slide show, please click on the first photo.
Garden Grove hosts Segerstrom Thursday night at 7 at Michael Monsoor Memorial Stadium in a battle for the top spot. Both teams are 8-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. In this week’s CIF Division 9 rankings, Segerstrom is sixth and Garden Grove seventh.
It’s a game fans, players and coaches of both teams have been looking forward to.
“The keys to the game this week is containing Segerstrom’s balanced offense and winning the special team battle and not turning the ball over,” said Garden Grove Coach Ricardo Cepeda.Â
“We will need to play disciplined football to beat them and it should be a great game. The team who turns the ball over less  will win. (These are) two very good teams who play hard nosed football.”
Garden Grove is led offensively by running back Mike Carrillo, the leading rusher in Orange County. Carriillo has rushed for 1,749 yards on 160 carries and 27 touchdowns and hauled in 11 catches for 223 yards and three touchdowns.
The quarterback is senior Jacob Zazueta, who is “a duel threat quarterback who has been very accurate this year,” Cepeda said.
Zazueta has passed for 866 yards and nine touchdowns and also rushed for 448 yards and nine touchdowns.
“Our strength of our offense is on the offensive line as those five guys have played well the entire year,” Cepeda said.
There are also some talented receivers, including junior Quimari Winbush, who has 19 catches for 251 yards and two touchdowns and senior Shawn Haislip, who has 11 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
Mike Carrillo has also led the defense.
“He has seven Interceptions and is our second leading tackler,” Cepeda said. “His cousin Jose Carrillo is our leading tackler and our middle linebacker. Defensive end Israel Pacheco is our sack leader and nose guard Kevin Feluai at times is unblockable.”
Jose Carrillo has 86 tackles and four interceptions, Feluai has 44 tackles, 13 for a loss and Pacheco has eight sacks.
SEGERSTROM PREPARES FOR SHOWDOWN WITH GARDEN GROVE
-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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