Yorba Linda running back William Saucedo breaks away from the Orange defense for a long gain in the first quarter of the game. (Photos: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).
William Saucedo rushed for 155 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Yorba Linda to a 36-7 victory over Orange in a non-league game Thursday night at El Modena High.
Saucedo carried the ball 27 times and the Mustangs offensive line (Grayson Pelick, Jayden Flaig, Matson Ochoa, Kaz Aslay, Logan Kemp and Rory Mosier) dominated as Yorba Linda won its third consecutive game to start the season. Orange fell to 1-2.
“Our offensive line gave us a great push and opened holes,” said Saucedo. “We played disciplined football and we gained momentum by scoring two late touchdowns in the second quarter.”
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The Mustangs took advantage of a Panthers miscue on their first possession and capitalized to take an early 7-0 lead. Linebacker Dylan Gardner intercepted a Hype Grand pass that led to a Yorba Linda eight-play, 43 yard scoring march. Saucedo capped the drive with a four-yard TD run.
Yorba Linda was driving for a second score late in the first quarter, but Orange linebacker Angelo Adetoye intercepted a deflected pass near the goal line to foil a Mustangs scoring opportunity.
Panthers quarterback Oscar Rios, who replaced Grand after he injured his shoulder in the second quarter and left the game, scored on 3-yard touchdown run to complete a nine-play, 60 yard scoring drive that tied the score at 7-7 with 5:22 left in the half.
However, the Mustangs rallied and scored twice in the final minutes to take a 22-7 halftime lead. Jason Escovar returned a Panthers kickoff to the 30-yard line. Four plays later, Saucedo scored his second TD of the game on five-yard touchdown run.
Moments later, Yorba Linda linebacker Wyatt Mosier returned an interception to the Panthers six-yard line. Ali Elfify plunged into the end zone on a 1-yard run to give the Mustangs a two touchdown lead at the break.
“We stuck to our game plan with the ground game and our defense played their butts off,” said Mustangs coach Jeff Bailey. “Our offensive line played well and our special teams had several long returns that gave us good field position.”
Elfify and Escovar added TD runs in the second half and the Mustangs defense stiffened as Yorba Linda cruised to victory.
Wide receiver Centrell Wise led the Panthers with four catches for 71 yards.
“We played a good first half, but they are a physical team and they are better than us,” said Orange Coach Robert Pedroza. “They have a really good ground game and we made too many mistakes.”
—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
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