Shorthanded Los Amigos football falls to Santiago
GARDEN GROVE — Los Amigos High came into Friday’s Garden Grove League game against Santiago shorthanded.
Without their starting quarterback or running back, the Lobos were forced to shift around the offense, with freshman quarterback Maysen Navarro getting his first ever snaps in a football game.
“When I knew I was going to start, there was pressure,” said Navarro, who was told he’d be starting two days before the game, “but once I got here it was gone and it was just to get work done.”
After falling behind quickly, Los Amigos felt the absences as the Santiago Cavaliers defeated the Lobos 35-14 at Garden Grove High School. Despite the missing players, Los Amigos showed promise with a freshman and sophomore leading the offense from the backfield.
“Considering the circumstances, we fared well,” Los Amigos head coach Maopu Tuato said. “They gave it their all. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort they put in tonight.”
Santiago (1-1, 1-1 in the Garden Grove League) went to work early, led by senior running back Derrick Martin, who broke off a 76-yard touchdown on the first snap of the game. Later in the first quarter, Santiago struck again from its own 24-yard line, with senior receiver Diego Topete catching a pass in the slot from senior quarterback Nathan Sanchez, then running 76 yards to the end zone.
“They were in position, the assignments were there, they just didn’t make the plays and that’s on us,” Tuato said of his defense. “We allowed them to get those first 14 [points] right off the bat, it wasn’t them doing anything special.”
The Santiago lead increased to 21-0 by halftime with Martin running in a seven-yard touchdown before completing a hat-trick with another long run, this time 47 yards, for a 28-0 lead.
But Los Amigos (0-2, 0-2) didn’t quit. The Lobos marched down the field, emphasizing their run game led by sophomore running back Isaac Cuevas, who punched in a score on a night where he went 172 yards on 27 carries. The Los Amigos offensive line opened gaps and Cuevas darted through them.
“We’re a veteran group up front and they’re a lot better than they give themselves credit for,” Tuato said. “It showed in the second half when they were making some key blocks. And that’s a really good defensive front on the Santiago side. They did a good job protecting the freshman and the sophomore in the backfield tonight.”
Cuevas’ backfield partner Navarro threw well in his debut, going for 38 yards on four of 13 passing, a deceiving statline as the freshman hit the hands of his receivers on a majority of his attempts.
Navarro’s only blemishes were an interception and a strip-sack returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“I knew he was cool under pressure, but I didn’t know he was going to be that cool under the pressure,” Tuato said. “The mistakes he did make, he did come off to the sideline and let us know he was cognizant of what he did and adjusted to them later on in the game. Future’s bright for Maysen.”
Santiago had the game wrapped up in the fourth quarter following the fumble-recovery touchdown, but once again, Los Amigos refused to give in.
Following a Santiago missed field goal while trailing 35-7, Los Amigos put together one last long drive in the closing minutes of the game. This time, sophomore Kymy Tran pushed his way over the goal line after a Cuevas set-up run to the 1-yard line.
“I knew I was going to make mistakes,” Navarro said. “I think I was just going to come out here and play. That’s really all it was to me: just play.”
Los Amigos will take on Westminster La Quinta on April 2 as Garden Grove League play continues.
Garden Grove League
Santiago 35, Los Amigos 14
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Santiago 14 – 7 – 7 – 7 – 35
Marina 0 – 0 – 7 – 7 – 14
FIRST QUARTER
S – Martin 76 run (Garcia kick), 11:38.
S – Topete 76 pass from Sanchez (Garcia kick), 2:49.
SECOND QUARTER
S – Martin 7 run (Garcia kick), 5:14.
THIRD QUARTER
S – Martin 47 run (Garcia kick), 7:25.
LA – Cuevas 1 run (Silva kick), 1:37.
FOURTH QUARTER
S – Hernandez 36 fumble return (Garcia kick), 10:23.
LA – Tran 1 run (Silva kick), 2:54.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
S – Martin, 19-198, 3 TDs.
LA – Cuevas, 27-172, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
S – Sanchez, 1-3-0, 76, 1 TD.
LA – Navarro, 4-13-1, 38.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
S – Topete 1-76, 1 TD.
LA – Garcia, 4-39.
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