SANTA ANA, Calif. – Luke Wilson and Joshua Rice connected on a game winning 25 yard go route to the back of the endzone to lift the Santa Ana football team to a 55-52 overtime win against the Antelope Valley Marauders on Saturday night.
The game went into overtime after an up and down fourth quarter for the Dons. They saw themselves up by as much as 16 in the quarter when Cole Nequette ran in his second touchdown of the night from two yards out to make it a 49-33 game with 7:03 left on the clock.
Antelope Valley responded with 16 unanswered points as Brian Adams threw for touchdowns on back to back drives and Tyler Selvig scrambled to convert on both two point conversations to tie the game at 49-49. The Marauders had a chance to win it in regulation but kicker Lucas Seaton came up short on a 40 yard field goal attempt to send it to overtime.
In overtime, the Don defense held up to force a field goal from AVC before sending out Wilson and Rice to end the game.
Wilson finished the night with five touchdowns and 568 yards, breaking the school record for passing yards in single game. After two games, the sophomore from Yorba Linda High ranks second in yards per game at 476 and is tied for first in passing touchdowns in the state with 11.
Rice continued to dominate the defensive backs covering him as he went for nine receptions, 146 yards and two touchdowns against AVC. He leads all receivers in both yards per game at 186 and touchdown receptions with 6.
But it wasn't just Rice that had a big night for the Santa Ana receiving core. Seth Locke (4 rec/135 yrds), Tyler Shimomura (4 rec/104 yrds) and Giovanni Pavon (4 rec/71 yrds) combined for 310 yards, 12 receptions and two touchdowns to provide a punch for the high powered SAC offense.
The Dons also leaned on the explosiveness of receiver and return man, Indiana Taylor. On the opening kickoff, Taylor broke free for a 92 yard touchdown return to give Santa Ana an early lead. He finished with 210 yards of return yards to go with two receptions for 47 yards and another touchdown.
On the other side of the football, Santa Ana struggled for the second consecutive game as they gave up 660 yards of total offense and 52 points. Kenny Phillips, Jalen Jones and Chris Hertl led the team in tackles with nine a piece while Giovanni Kizer put pressure on the AVC quarterback all night with five tackles, 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
Santa Ana picks up the win to improve to 1-1 on the season. In week three, the Dons will host Fullerton College in the 97th Key to the County Game on Saturday, September 21st at 6:00 p.m. The Hornets are 1-1 this season after falling to Riverside City College 16-7 on Saturday.
