Segerstrom’s Ayden Morales finds the end zone for one of his four touchdowns Friday night. (Photos courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone).
Segerstrom senior Ayden Morales has had many memorable games in his outstanding football career with the Jaguars.
Friday’s game, in which he rushed for four touchdowns including a game-winning 10-yard TD with about five minutes left, stands at the top of the list.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
PHOTO:Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone
Morales final TD helped the Jaguars notch a 28-22 Kappa League victory over a tough Esperanza team, led by one of the county’s top quarterbacks Travis Frazier, who passed for 278 yards and two touchdowns.
It was a career best in touchdowns and yards for Morales, who rushed for 262 yards on 23 carries.
“I had four touchdowns today, {owe it} all to my line, creating those big gaps and allowing me to read that gap and just go score,” Morales said shortly after the win Friday night at Segerstrom. “Never had a game like that, my first one, feels great, feels amazing.
“It’s really big, now we can move on next week against Westminster and hopefully keep fighting for that league title. It means a lot, we fight every week for a win like this.”
Morales had a 6-yard TD run in the first quarter, a 56-yard TD run in the second quarter, a 70-yard TD in the third quarter and the 10-yard score in the fourth quarter with 5:31 remaining that put the Jaguars (5-2, 2-0) ahead by six.
“Got the ball, the line opened up the big gap and blocked all their guys and my teammate Diego (Garcia) had a block in the secondary and helped me score that touchdown,” Morales said of the 70-yard score.
“Ayden is our workhorse,” said Segerstrom Coach Joseph Tagaloa. “He comes out, he’s very professional every week, he gets after it, he’s a strong runner and today we were able to get a body on a body and he hit a crease and he took a couple to the house.”
Morales also hauled in a 21-yard catch from quarterback Louis Garcia.
Esperanza placekicker Andrew Orrick also had an outstanding game, kicking field goals of 24, 21 and 22 yards.
The Aztecs moved ahead 22-20 when Frazier connected with Eddie Matthews on a 5-yard TD pass late in the third quarter. Frazier and Matthews also hooked up on a 75-yard TD pass early in the third quarter which cut Segerstrom’s lead to 14-12. Matthews was the game’s top receiver with six catches for 138 yards.
Segerstrom led 14-6 at halftime but had to battle back in the second half after Esperanza took the lead. Segerstrom is tied for first place with Brea Olinda (5-2, 2-0).
“This is a big win, we have a couple guys out for personal reasons and our team really came together today and picked up the slack,” Tagaloa said. “We talk about playing football and winning all facets of the game and I thought today, offense, defense and special teams and our sideline really kept us in the game and ultimately we were able to make the plays when we needed it.”
Esperanza got the ball back with 42 seconds left in the game on its own 18-yard line with three timeouts left. The Aztecs advanced the ball to their own 41-yard line, but an interception by Jullian Hernandez sealed the win.
Segerstrom’s Vincent Armijo also had a big defensive play earlier in the quarter when he batted a pass down on fourth down, giving the Jaguars possession with 2:52 left in the game.
Segerstrom running back Logan Rosales was also solid, rushing for 47 yards on 11 carries.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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