Gauchos even record with rout of Moorpark

The Saddleback football team improved to 2-2 on the year with a 41-3 win at Moorpark College on Saturday night in Moorpark.  The Gauchos forced five turnovers while cruising past the Raiders heading into homecoming.

Saddleback got off to a rough start when Robbie Patterson was intercepted on the third play of the game and the Raiders turned it into a 3-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.  From that point forward the Gauchos dominated the game, scoring 41 unanswered points for their most lopsided win since week eight of last year.

Saddleback's defense was stifling, holding the Raider offense to 189 total yards and 14 first downs.  The Gauchos intercepted Moorpark quarterbacks four times while 11 different Gauchos had tackles behind the line-of-scrimmage.

Patterson would eventually turn things around on offense as Saddleback took the lead back on a Jerome Johnson 1-yard run with 6:30 remaining in the opening quarter.  The Gauchos would add a 33-yard field goal from Matthew Freem to finish the first quarter up 10-3.  Patterson had a big second quarter, running for a 5-yard score and then hitting Yasir Berry on a slant pattern for an 8-yard touchdown to close out the half with a 24-3 lead.   

Saddleback would add 10 more points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.  Patterson hooked up with Berry on a 60-yard score on third-and-15 to put Saddleback up 31-3.  The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Moorpark, setting up Freem for a 40-yard field goal and a 34-3 advantage.

Saddleback would get a lot of clean jerseys into the game in the fourth quarter as the teams got chippy down the stretch.  Al Gene Fisher would close out the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run with 3:29 remaining in the game for a 41-3 lead.

Patterson finished 22-of-31 for 241 yards and two touchdown passes.  Berry led the receiving corps with six receptions for 118 yards and two scores.  Tyler Noble led the defense with six tackles, a fumble recovery, two pass break-ups and a blocked kick while Tristan Kafentzis had two interceptions.

Saddleback is now 2-2 on the season heading into homecoming.  The Gauchos will host Mt. San Antonio College at Mission Viejo High School on Saturday night at 6:00 PM.