Servite’s Offense Steps Forward in First-Place Battle

All season the Servite offense has listened as the coaching staff explained that the defense was the dominant half of the team.

But the offense made a solid showing, especially on a key drive late in the first half, and Servite beat host Tustin, 28-14, in a Golden West League first-place showdown Friday.

Servite quarterback Dan Petropulos, who has been battling a neck injury for the last four weeks, had his best performance of the season, completing 11 of 16 for 177 yards.

Running back Matt Gogan had 138 yards and a touchdown in 24 carries, and teammate Tyrone Gribben rushed for the other three touchdowns and 58 yards in 11 carries. The combination of running and passing kept Tustin’s defense honest.

“We had to keep them off-balance,” Servite Coach Larry Tonner said, “They’re too big and physical and they’d kill us.”

Servite’s offense was at its best in the final two minutes of the first half. The drive started at the Servite 13 with one minute 54 seconds left. The Friars (4-4, 3-0) ran each of the first five plays for a total of 45 yards.

With 26 seconds left, Petropulos completed a 24-yard pass to Chad Bystedt, who got out of bounds at the Tustin 18 with 26 seconds left. After an incompletion, Petropulos threw 17 yards to Brendon Hopkins, who was tackled at the Tustin one with four seconds left in the half.

After a timeout, Gribben scored with one second left for a 14-0 Servite lead.

“From the first play we knew in the huddle that we would score [on that drive],” Petropulos said, “We’ve been told we’re a defensive team all year. We’ve got a great group of guys on the O-line and they said, ‘Let’s just run the ball down the field.’ ”

Servite drove for a touchdown on the opening series of the second half to take a 21-0 lead, but Tustin briefly made the game interesting.

It started when Branden Malcom raced 86 yards for a touchdown and Tustin trailed, 21-7, with 6:51 left in the third quarter.

Servite then gained nothing on three plays and Tustin’s David Little blocked a punt giving the Tillers a first down at the Servite 14.

But the Servite defense stood strong, and Adam Teschke’s field goal attempt missed just right.

In another Golden West League game:

Saddleback 49, Santa Ana 6--Joel Gonzalez scored three touchdowns and Rene Savala scored two to lead Saddleback (3-4-1, 2-1).

After Jeff Grivas opened the scoring for Saddleback with a 12-yard touchdown reception from Sal Pedroza with 8:25 left in the first quarter, Gonzalez followed with two touchdown runs in the second quarter on rushes of one and 36 yards.

Gonzalez’s two-yard run in the third quarter put Saddleback up 35-0. Santa Ana is 2-6, 1-2.