Patrick McMorris of Santa Ana joins in on the alma mater Thursday night. (Photos by Fernando M. Donado / For OC Sports Zone)
NOTE: Story originally published Sept. 27, 2018.
Santa Ana’s football team put its newest offensive weapon on display Thursday evening in its Orange Coast League opener against Costa Mesa and things couldn’t have gone better for the Saints.
To see the slide show, please click on the first photo.
Santa Ana running back Patrick McMorris scored four touchdowns as the Saints cruised to a dominating 79-0 victory over Costa Mesa at Costa Mesa High.
McMorris, a senior transfer from Godinez who was ineligible for the first five games of the season, saw his first action and raised eyebrows from the outset. The 6-2 McMorris rushed for 87 yards on nine carries and caught two passes, one for a TD. He even kicked a half a dozen extra points.
“It felt great to be out there tonight,” said McMorris. “We’ve been working hard for the past seven weeks and we’re focused and working hard.”
The Saints improved to 4-2 and 1-0. The Mustangs fell to 0-6, 0-1 on the season and have lost 12 consecutive games.
Things started out badly for the Mustangs and got worse quickly. McMorris added another dimension to the Saints offensive attack and he was virtually unstoppable.
Costa Mesa fumbled the ball on the second play of the game. Santa Ana took over and quarterback Julian Gomez rambled 18 yards for a touchdown on the Saints first play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead after only 15 seconds into the game.
Following a Mustangs three-and-out, the Saints drove 74 yards in 12 plays to up their lead to 14-0. McMorris scored on a 4-yard run to cap the scoring drive.
Two plays following an interception by Santa Ana defensive back Jesus Cruz, Nick Larriva caught a 17-yard TD pass from Gomez and the Saints led 20-0 with 3:11 to play in the first quarter.
The Mustangs (0-6, 0-1) were unable to muster any offensive attack. Santa Ana’s defense led by Luis Guevara and Miguel Leon forced four first half turnovers and limited to Costa Mesa to under 40 yards of offense in the first half.
McMorris scored three touchdowns in the second quarter on runs of one and seven yards. He also hauled in a 27-TD pass from Gomez as the Saints broke the game open.
Gomez had a big game as he rushed for 102 yards, scored two touchdowns on the ground and threw two touchdowns passes of 17 and 27 yards respectively.
“We came out with great energy tonight and our offensive line let us run the ball,” said Gomez. “I can’t tell you how great it is to have a back like McMorris who is so explosive. He came out and got it done tonight.”
Drew Ramirez, a senior running back rushed the ball five times for 115 yards and a TD. His 18-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter propelled Santa Ana to a 46-0 half time lead.
The Saints totaled 418 yards of offense in the first half and scored on all seven of its possessions in the opening half.
“Tonight, was a true testament of the character of Patrick McMorris, Santa Ana Coach Charlie TeGantvoort said. “Even though he hasn’t been eligible to play until tonight, he has been our scout player of the week every week. I’m happy how focused we came out to play tonight.”
Shawn Jimenez also had two TD runs of 12 and 23 yards for the Saints.
Despite the overwhelming loss, Mustangs coach David Gutierrez said his team never quit.
“The kids continued to battle,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries but these kids never quit. As a coach all you can ask for is for them to give their best effort and these guys are doing that.”
Gutierrez, Costa Mesa’s first year head coach, served as an assistant for Santa Ana for the previous four seasons.
STATS
SA 20 26 27 06 – 79
CM 00 00 00 00 – 00
RUSHING: SA, Ramirez 5-115, Gomez 5-102, McMorris 9-87.
CM, Paxson 3-38, Hernandez 13-25.
PASSING: SA, Gomez 10-13, 180, 2 TDs
CM, Juncker 9-17-2, 37
RECEIVING: Ramirez 4-55, McMorris 2-54.
CM, Figueroa 5-26, Fletcher 4-24.
-Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
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