Gauchos want it a little Moore

The Saddleback football team pulled off an improbable win on Saturday night at the stadium, outlasting Fullerton College for a 30-27 win.   Freshman Deondre Moore had a big night, scoring the game-winner with 38 seconds remaining.

In a game that was anything but a Picasso, Saddleback made just enough plays to topple previously unbeaten Fullerton in a game that lasted just over 3.5 hours.  The game featured 33 penalties and over 800 yards of offense, with 11 penalties alone in the fourth quarter. 

The game had an eerie resemblance to last year's game, with Fullerton jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and the Gauchos winning the game in the final minute.    Last year Saddleback scored with 23 seconds remaining when Myron Buchanan rolled in from one yard out for a three point win.  This year it was Moore, who caught a 16-yard pass over the middle from Nick Robinson for a three point win.

Moore only had four catches on the night, but three of them went for touchdowns.  His first came in the opening quarter on a simple curl pattern, when he spun out of the tacklers grasp and raced for a 71-yard score to cut the Fullerton lead to 14-6.   Moore then opened the second half by taking a short pass over the middle and turning it into an 82-yard scamper to give Saddleback a 23-21 lead. 

Fullerton managed to get back the lead with a pair of field goals while the Saddleback offense sputtered.  The Gauchos had four straight drives where they were facing third-and-20 or more, failing to go through any of them without some sort of penalty. 

Fullerton returned the favor, scoring two touchdowns that were called back by penalties.  The first was an 80-yard touchdown pass to Justin Walker late in the third quarter that was called back for an illegal lineman downfield.  The second came on the very next drive when quarterback Jordan Hoy raced 46 yards for a score, only to be called back for holding.

The game came down to a final drive as Saddleback took over at midfield with 1:53 remaining on the clock and facing a 27-23 deficit on the scoreboard.  After three straight incompletions the Gauchos were faced with fourth and 10 to keep the game alive.  Robinson rolled right and threw towards an open receiver past the first down sticks.  The ball was caught out of bounds, but Saddleback caught a break when the officials whistled Fullerton for a late hit on the quarterback to give them a fresh set of downs at the 35 yard line.  After one incompletion, Saddleback was then flagged for offensive interference, putting them back at midfield and facing a second and 25.  Fullerton again returned the favor, getting called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the following play and a fresh set of downs from the 21 yard line.   Saddleback then worked the sidelines to Chris Spiering for five yards while the Fullerton crowd grew restless.  The Gauchos followed with an incomplete pass and faced a third and five from the 16-yard line with under 45 seconds remaining and needing a touchdown.  That's when Robinson found Moore on the post pattern and threw a strike.  Moore caught the ball just outside the end zone and raced past the defender, sliding on his knees as if he had just won the World Cup.  Both crowds erupted, one with joy and the other with total frustration. 

Moore finished with 199 yards on four catches while Robinson was 20-of-36 for 329 yards and three touchdown passes.  The Gauchos struggled for most of the night on the ground.  Jojo Binda led the way with 51 yards rushing…35 of which came on one play. 

Saddleback had their hands full on defense trying to contain Hoy.  The Texas freshman finished with 228 yards passing while rushing for 111 yards on the ground.  Saddleback managed to put just enough pressure on Hoy to keep him out of a rhythm, sacking him five times while forcing him into a number of quick throws.  Karson Block was a pillar of consistency on defense, finishing with a team-high 12 tackles for the game.

Saddleback is now 6-1 overall and 1-1 in National Division Southern League play following the win.  The Gauchos will now have two straight games on the road, starting with Grossmont next Saturday.  Game time is scheduled for 1:00 PM in El Cajon.