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Big First Half Leads Dons to 31-24 Win over Desert
SANTA ANA, CA -In a game of two halves, the Santa Ana College (SAC) football team picked up its first East Conference win following its 31-24 victory over visiting College of the Desert.
Nearly all of the offense came in the first half with the Dons (4-3, 1-1) scoring on their first play from scrimmage. After Desert (5-2, 1-1) kicked the opening kickoff out of bounds, Andrew McDonald hit Ario Winston for a 60-yard touchdown pass.
It didn't take long for the Roadrunners to answer as they found the end zone less than four minutes later. Jai Steib capped off a four-play drive with a 29-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.
Desert took its first lead of the game three minutes later at 10-7 when Brett Symonds connected on a 51-yard field goal. However, that lead wouldn't even last a minute.
The Dons once again scored on their first play of the drive with Winston scoring his second touchdown of the game. This touchdown was an 80-yard touchdown pass from Duke DeLancellotti that put the Dons up 14-10.
The back-and-forth action continued with Desert reclaiming the lead at 17-14 with 2:25 left in the first quarter when Steib ran in for his second score, this time from three-yards out.
Not to be outdone, the Dons marched back down the field with a six-play, 90-yard drive. The final play of the drive was a 12-yard touchdown pass from McDonald to Ryan Arballo that put the Dons up 21-17 at the end of the first quarter.
After six combined scores in the first quarter, the two offenses slowed down for the remainder of the game with just three more scores in the rest of the game. The first was a 37-yard field goal by Dillan Freiberg that extended the Dons lead to 24-17 early in the second quarter.
The Dons capped the first half scoring with six minutes left in the second quarter when DeLancellotti connected with Avery Williams for a 51-yard field goal. After catching the ball in traffic, Williams dragged a defender into the endzone for the score, putting the Dons up 31-17.
The game remained at 31-17 until the final minute of the game. With 1:18 left in the game, the Dons lined up for a 47-yard field goal but the attempt was blocked by Jacob Sheffield and recovered by Shaine Boyle.
Boyle looked destined for the endzone but was caught from behind by DeLancellotti who started the play as the place-holder. Four plays later, the Roadrunners found the endzone on a four-yard touchdown pass from Charles Fortis to Jordan Brewer. The late score cut the Dons lead to 31-24.
Desert then attempted an onside kick with 38 seconds left but their rally was halted when Juan Cruz recovered the onside attempt. The Dons were then able to run the clock out, preserving the 31-24 win.
Winston was the top performer for the Dons with six catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Winston finished 18 yards shy of the SAC record for most receiving yards in a game.
Terrance Holzendorf led the Dons rushing attack with 103 yards on 19 carries with a long run of 25 yards.The Dons two quarterbacks, McDonald and DeLancellotti, combined for 22-for-33 passing for 384 yards and four touchdowns.
Defensively, the Dons were led by Maxx Huber with 13 tackles followed by Dylan Reda with 11 tackles. Romel Lilly led the Dons with six solo tackles.
NEXT: Santa Ana at Riverside, Saturday, October 29 at 6:00 p.m. |
