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SANTA ANA, CA - Curtis Gladden's 25-yard field goal with five second remaining gave fifth-ranked Santa Ana College a 29-27 win over Golden West College and spoiled the Rustlers' upset bid in the opening game of Mission Conference National Division action, Saturday.
 It was Gladden's fifth field goal of the day which set
a new school record previously held by John Talley (vs Los Angeles City , 1982) and Agustin Gonzales (vs Golden West, 2001). The sophomore from Pacifica High School connected on field goals of 25, 30, 38, 41 and 50 yards and averaged 44.7 yards on three punts.
Gladden's game-winner came after the Dons drove 72 yards in five plays in just 66 seconds. Santa Ana fell behind Golden West moments earlier when the Rustlers' Tua Marasco sacked the Dons' Daniel  Morales and forced him to fumble. Two plays later Ryan Green, who rushed for a game-high 116 yards on 23 carries, tied the game at 26-26 with a 14-yard scamper down the right sideline. Phil Sommerfeld gave the Rustlers their first lead at 27-26 with his PAT despite having the previous two blocked.
Morales, who finished 21 of 35 for 263 yards and one touchdown, led the Dons late comeback with a 56-yard pass to Finas Rabb and then connected with Devonte Merrifield on a 10-yard pass play that put the ball at the Rustler 14-yardline with 55 second remaining. Following a pair of rushed by Merrifield that put the ball on the Rustlers' eight, Gladden was summons for the winning kick.
Early on Santa Ana's defense stymied three Golden West scoring opportunities by causing three fumbles one of which was returned 60 yards for a touchdown by Dons' sophomore strong safety Donny Spreeman.
After taking an early 6-0 lead on a pair of Gladden field goals, Golden West missed an opportunity to score when Ryan Green fumbled at the Dons' three-yard line. Santa Ana linebacker Myles Banford spoiled the Rustlers' nine-play, 72-yard drive when he recovered the loose ball at the Dons' eight.
On its next possession, Golden West had another scoring chance swarted when Gabe Rojo sacked Joey Halze causing the Rustlers' quarterback to fumble at the Santa Ana 36 which Spreeman picked up at the 40-yard line and raced untouched to give the Dons a 13-0 lead.
Santa Ana's spoiled yet another eight-play, 45-yard drive when Mikell Mair jarred the ball loose from Jose Quintana at the Dons' four which Kyle Lancaster recovered at the Santa Ana seven.
Vince Bolin, Thomas Christian and Allen Autagavaia each finished with 4.5 tackles in the win while Spreeman registered three stops (one for loss), a fumble return for a touchdown and blocked a Golden West PAT attempt.
Offensively, Golden West was led by Halzle who completing 18 of 36 for 261 yards and three scores. His main target was Gerald Fields who finished with a game-high nine catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
Jacob Malufau had a game-high 8.5 tackles for the Rustlers.
Next: Santa Ana College (5-1, 1-0) at El Camino College (5-0), Saturday, October 22, 6 p.m. at Murdock Stadium in Torrance , CA .
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