SANTA ANA, Calif. – Santa Ana football made it three straight wins to finish the 2019 season as it defeated the LA Valley Monarchs (3-7, 2-4) by a score of 55-21 on Saturday at Santa Ana Stadium.
With 415 yards of total offense and a 35:23 to 24:37 advantage in time of possession, the Dons were in control for the majority of the game.
SAC used two plays to jump on top after the first drive of the game as Cross Faletoi connected with Tyler Shimomura for a 49 yard pass followed by a two yard rushing touchdown by Cole Nequette to put the Dons up 7-0.
On the ensuing LA Valley possession, Michael Kizer logged his sixth sack of the season and forced a fumble that was recovered by Justin Stepanian to give the Dons the ball back.
The Dons offense then picked up right where it left off with another quick touchdown drive, giving them a 14-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
LAVC responded by scoring touchdowns on two of their next three drives but had no answers for the Santa Ana offense that put up 14 more points before half to push the lead to 28-14.
In the second half, Santa Ana continued to poor it on as they extended the lead to as much as 34 by the fourth quarter.
The Dons walked away with the win to improve to 5-5, 4-2 overall and secure third place in the American Metro League standings.
STAT STUFFERS
Faletoi finished 10-19 with 160 passing yards a touchdown before being knocked out of the game due to injury in the second half. Kyle Hurry took over from there and went 4-10 for 64 yards and a pick. As a receiver, he caught two passes for 26 yards and a touchdown.
Noel Posey led all rushers with 64 yards on the ground including a touchdown with Cole Nequette put three into the endzone and posted 54 yards. John Daskalakis joined the party with a 16 yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter for his first score of the season.
The trio of Tyler Shimomura, Indiana Taylor and Joshua Rice combined for 13 catches, 214 yards and a touchdown to carry the load for SAC.
Santa Ana's defensive was once again anchored by the play of linebacker Kenny Phillips, who racked up nine tackles in his final game as a Don. The Kizer brothers combined for seven tackles and four sacks while Devin Ruffalo, Justin Stepanian and Jacob Domino added three each.
