SANTA ANA, Calif. - In the final regular season game of the year, the Santa Ana College Football team held off the College of the Desert Roadrunners (6-4, 3-2) for a 49-28 victory on Saturday night.
It was a critical game as both teams had bowl game implications hanging in the balance. Ultimately, the Dons (8-2, 4-1) solidified their spot in postseason play with a win while the Roadrunners left with an unknown future.
Santa Ana's offense showed promise early on after Dallen Engemann and Cannon King connected for a 32 yard touchdown pass on their second drive to go up 7-0.
COD responded quickly as they used just three plays to go 68 yards capped by Kannin Boswell 19 yard rushing touchdown.
The Dons struck again on the next drive, marching down the field for 62 yards and scoring a two yard run by Malcom Perry.
Santa Ana went on a run following that as they went up 28-7 before the Roadrunners scored once more on a last second heave for a touchdown just before halftime.
After receiving the kickoff, Desert inched closer when they put up seven more points on the initial drive of the half.
But the Dons continued to dominate offensively and made the necessary adjustments defensively to go on a 21-7 run to end the game.
Engemann got the start at quarterback and threw for 148 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Beck Moss had another impressive performance as the sophomore finished with 133 yards and three touchdown passes himself.
Owen Smith posted 81 yards on the ground with a touchdown while Jackson Smith added 73 yards. Perry also pitched in with 44 rushing yards in addition to two catches for 21 yards and a touchdown.
Beck Moss �� Malachi Pierce #SACDons pic.twitter.com/6Osggrl6su
— SAC Dons (@SACDons) November 12, 2023
Cannon King and Malachi Pierce caught four passes and two touchdowns a piece while combining for 183 yards to lead the Don receiving core once again.
Defensively, the SAC defensive line was the anchor as they collected nine more sacks and caused chaos in the backfield all night.
Reigning American Metro League Defensive Player of the Year, Blaze Iglesias, had one of his best games of the season with nine tackles and three sacks on the night.
Fellow defensive lineman Zamir Richardson added nine tackles himself while adding 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
The two standouts helped the Dons lead the state, combining for 21.5 of their 47 sacks.
Santa Ana will now wait to see who they face in the upcoming bowl game.
That's a wrap! The Dons closed out the regular season with a 4️⃣9️⃣-2️⃣8️⃣ win over College of the Desert to improve to 8-2 overall.
— SAC Dons (@SACDons) November 12, 2023
SAC will most likely host a bowl game against a team to be announced at a later date. #SACDons #SACFB pic.twitter.com/CMYErZ1srO
