PHOTOS: Ardwon Morris helps Orange earn a share of league title with win over Santa Ana

Orange Head Coach Robert Pedroza celebrates with his players after the Panthers defeated Santa Ana.(Photos: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

Orange, Santa Ana and St. Margaret’s are tri-champions.

For the sixth consecutive season the Santa Ana and Orange High’s football teams faced off in the Orange Coast League regular season finale. The rivalry has emerged as one of the best in Orange County and on Friday night at Fred Kelly Stadium another league title was on the line.

Panthers running back Ardwon Morris was the star of the game as the senior carried the ball 50 times for 366 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Orange to a 14-0 shutout win over the Saints.

Sophomore Wesley Lundell replaced injured starting quarterback Hype Grand and handed the ball off to Morris and he did the rest. Throughout the game it took four and five Santa Ana defenders to bring Morris down. Morris leads the county in rushing with 2,152 yards and he has scored 26 touchdowns.

“I attribute to being able to carry the ball (a career-high) 50 times to the time I spend in the weight room,” said Morris, who is committed to playing at Sacramento State next season. “The O-line came up big and I love those guys. They were the key to this game. This isn’t the way we wanted to be league champions (by sharing it), but we made the best of our situation.”

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

Orange senior running back Ardwon Morris poses for a picture after the game.

Santa Ana quarterback Sergio Torres and Luis Tlachi shake the hands of Orange players after Friday's defeat against the Panthers.

Orange running back Ardwon Morris takes off for a 49-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. His second of the game.

Orange players celebrate after the Panthers win over the Saints.

Orange head coach Robert Pedroza and his players celebrate after the Panthers win over the Saints.

Orange players Ardwon Morris (5) and Devan Preciado (76) walk off the field as the clock is about to expire.

Saints captain Jose "Jr." Martinez pays a close attention to the coin toss.

Saints players led by Ignacio Marín prepare to take the field prior to Friday nights' showdown matchup against Orange.

Orange captains Ardwon Morris (5), Wesley Lundell(10), Joseph Carillo (75) and Devan Preciado (76) prepare to walk over to the coin toss.

Santa Ana captains Christian Murillo (75), Gabriel Ramírez Flores (24), Sergio Torres (6), and Jose "Jr." Martínez (21) prepare to walk over to the coin toss.

Santa Ana linebacker Ignacio Marín looks on late in the fourth quarter.

Santa Ana running back Charles Hughes looks for a hole to run through.

Santa Ana quarterback Sergio Torres scouts the Orange defense while looking for an open receiver during the second half of Friday's contest.

Orange quarterback Hype Grand (who didn't start) goes over the playbook with an Orange assistant.

An Orange player looks on during the first quarter of Friday night's game against Santa Ana.

Santa Ana cornerback Ruben Guerrero looks on during the first half of Friday night's contest against Orange.

Orange running back Ardwon Morris runs for a gain during the second quarter of Friday night's game against Santa Ana.

Santa Ana wide receiver Christian Ramos comes up with a reception during the third quarter of the game.

Santa Ana wide receiver Luis López checks in during the first half of Friday's contest.

Orange fans wave the OHS flag during the first half of Friday's showdown against Santa Ana.

Santa Ana receiver Christian Ramos comes up with a catch as Orange Chase Jackson applies the tackle during the first half of Friday night's contest.

Orange quarterback/receiver Wesley Lundell prepares to take a snap during the second quarter of Friday night's game against Santa Ana.

Orange players take the field prior to the opening kickoff.

Orange running back Ardwon Morris runs for a gain during the first quarter as Santa Ana's Ruben Guerrero pursues during the first quarter of Friday night's contest.

Santa Ana running back Charles Hughes looks on during the first quarter of Friday night's contest against Orange.

Santa Ana's head coach Rory Schoonmaker looks on during the first quarter of Friday's contest against Orange.

Orange running back Dominic Aquino runs after receiving a pass in the opening series of Friday night's game against Santa Ana.

Santa Ana players take the field prior to the opening kickoff on Friday night.

Orange quarterback/receiver Wesley Lundell (10) runs for a gain as fullback (12) Victor Salazar applies a block during the second quarter of Friday night's game against Santa Ana.

Santa Ana receiver Christian Ramos comes up with a catch as Orange Chase Jackson forces him out of bounds during the first half of Friday night's contest.

The Mayor of Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua (center), was in attendance for the Santa Ana vs. Orange showdown at Fred Kelly Stadium on Friday night.

Members of the Orange pep squad pose for the camera prior to the start of the Panthers' game against Santa Ana.

Santa Ana cheerleaders pose for the camera during halftime.

The Panthers (6-4, 5-1) will share the league title with Santa Ana (7-3, 5-1) and St. Margaret’s (6-4, 5-1), who defeated Calvary Chapel 55-14 on Friday. According to Saints coach Rory Schoonmaker all three teams will enter the playoffs as a No. 1 seed. Orange also snapped Santa Ana’s five-game winning streak and has extended its winning streak to four games.

Santa Ana had already clinched a share of the title.

“Ardwon (Morris) is an amazing football player,” said Orange Coach Robert Pedroza, who coached his 100^th game as the Panthers’ head coach. “He’s put us on his back all year. The O-line got after it tonight, hit them in the mouth and Ardwon kept grinding it out. He doesn’t get tired and he also plays defense. He’s simply amazing.”

Orange offensive lineman Devan Preciado said Morris was incredible.

“Props to Morris, he never gives up” said Preciado. “We wanted to win this game, especially for the seniors. We played like it was our last game.”

Both teams’ offenses sputtered in the first quarter. Orange, behind the guidance of Lundell, were flagged several times and the Panthers also committed a turnover. The Saints offense failed to get in sync in the opening quarter and the game was scoreless after 12 minutes of play.

Morris carried the ball nine times as the Panthers put together a 10-play, 87-yard scoring drive to start the second quarter to take the lead. Morris capped the drive with a one-yard TD run, his 25^th touchdown of the season. Orange went for a two-point conversion, but Morris was stopped short of the goal line and the Panthers led 6-0.

The Saints countered with their best drive of the first half as they moved to the Panthers 24 yard line. However, running back Charles Hughes was stopped short of a first down on a fourth down running play with 2:27 left in the half and Orange took over possession on downs.

The Panthers ground attack dominated in the opening half. Morris rushed for 195 yards on 24 carries and a TD. The Panthers completed only one pass in the first half, but held a 35-16 plays from scrimmage over Santa Ana. Orange outgained the Saints 224-71 yards in the first half. Santa Ana only had three possessions in the first half and three in the second half.

“We did everything we shouldn’t have done tonight; we didn’t tackle, we didn’t get off the field and we couldn’t stop Morris and that’s on me,” said Schoonmaker. “They earned this victory. We have to self-evaluate and come back from this game.”

The Saints took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove to the Panthers 22-yard line but a pass play fell short on a fourth down play.

Orange took possession and held the ball the remainder of the quarter, taking over eight minutes off the clock during their 17-play drive which Santa Ana took possession after stopping the Panthers on a fourth-down run.

Moments later, following a Saints punt, Morris broke a 49-yard touchdown run and added the two-point conversion as the Panthers increased their lead to 14-0.

The Orange defense was also outstanding, limiting Santa Ana’s rushing game to under 60 yards and their passing attack to under 100 yards while cooling off an offense that had scored more than 40 points in each of their last seven games.

“It was time to get down to business and we did it and kept playing hard,” said Panthers cornerback Chase Jackson.

Quarterback Sergio Torres led the Saints with 93 yards passing and he also rushed for 33 yards.

—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone