Gauchos run over Pirates

The Saddleback football team improved to 5-0 on Saturday with a 49-20 win over Ventura College at the stadium.  The Gauchos ran all over the Pirates with 301 yards on the ground.

Saddleback opened up a 14-3 lead in the first quarter as Edward Vander had a pair of scores for the early lead.  Vander would add a third touchdown in the second quarter as the Gauchos increased the lead to 21-6 late in the second quarter.

The Gauchos looked as if they would carry that lead into the locker room when the most improbable play of the game happened right before the half.  With just 15 second left on the clock, quarterback Nick Robinson found Kuron Nelson open at the 30 yard line. The ball bounced off of Nelson's chest into the air, looking like a clear interception.  However, Nelson caught his own ricochet as the safety was trying to make the interception, and turned with an open field to do the rest with his legs for a 28-6 halftime lead.

Saddleback led 35-6 when things got sloppy for a 10-minute spell in the third quarter.  The Pirates used a handful of penalties to jump back into the game with a pair of scores, narrowing the gap to 35-20.  Saddleback quickly responded with a seven play, 69-yard drive with Vander scoring his fourth touchdown of the game from 22 yards out.  The Gauchos would add a final touchdown when Robinson found Nelson for a 7-yard touchdown with 8:56 remaining in the game.

Vander finished with a team-high 113 yards on 20 carries.  Saddleback completed passes to eight different receivers, with Remy Wasserbach leading the team with six catches for 63 yards.  Robinson finished 26-of-32 for 281 yards and three touchdown passes.

In addition to Vander's big night on the ground the Gauchos had six runners in double-digits in yards rushing.  Robinson had 74, Jojo Binda 35, Vlad Dzhabiyev 32 (pictured), Marvin Marshall 22 and Leslie Byerly 11.

Saddleback had another solid night on defense, holding the potent Ventura offense to just 3-of-12 on third downs.  Nicholas Goss led the Gauchos with eight tackles on the night.

Saddleback's 5-0 start is the best since the program started 7-0 back in 2011.  The Gauchos will have a week off before traveling to Golden West College on October 15.  Game time is set for 6:00 PM.