SANTA ANA, Calif. – In a critical matchup with the first place Chaffey Panthers, the Santa Ana football team could not come up with enough offense, dropping the game 59-24.
In the first quarter, Chaffey quickly jumped out to the lead with a five play, 54 yard touchdown drive on their first possession. The Dons then answered back with a field goal on the ensuing drive to get on the board, making it a 7-3 game.
After the Panthers extended their lead with a field goal a few drives later, the Dons worked their way down the field for a touchdown when freshman receiver Joshua Rice beat his man on a fade route to tie the game at 10-10.
Santa Ana had matched every move the Panthers made up to that point, but it wouldn't last, as Chaffey put up 28 more points in the second quarter while the Dons only scored once on a Luke Wilson to Legend Demps touchdown late in the quarter.
The Dons went on to score just once more when Josh Hill ran in a 16 yard touchdown run, leading to their second loss in American Metro League play.
Santa Ana falls to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league play while the Chaffey Panthers rise to 7-1, 4-0 with the win.
GAME NOTES
The Dons recorded just 331 total yards of offense compared to 670 for the Panthers. Many of the yards came from sophomore receiver Qadir Dean, who hauled in six catches for 142 yards. Josh Hill ran for a team high 71 yards and a touchdown on 14 touches and quarterback Luke Wilson came off the bench to throw for two touchdowns and 197 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Skylar Finley led the Dons in tackles with nine and a forced fumble while Dillen Keyhea transitioned from playing running back to defensive back, collecting five tackles on the day.
UP NEXT
Santa Ana will visit Compton on Saturday, October 27th at 6:00 p.m. before coming back home for their final home game of the season on November 3rd against Glendale.
