Big Quarter Helps Santa Ana Valley Beat Orange

SANTA ANA — Dwayne Cherrington rushed for 149 yards in 15 carries and quarterback Tristan Lynch added 118 in 12 carries to lead Santa Ana Valley to an 18-13 victory over Orange in a Century League game Thursday at Santa Ana Stadium.

Santa Ana Valley (4-4, 1-2 in league) scored all its points in the second quarter. Lynch got the Falcons on the board by taking the ball on an option play and running 70 yards for a touchdown to give Orange a 7-6 lead.

The Falcons’ special teams swung the momentum to Santa Ana Valley on the ensuing kickoff. Adrian Buenrostro knocked the ball loose from Orange’s Eric Whitted at the 22-yard line. Alfredo Macias scooped up the ball and ran it in, giving Santa Ana Valley the lead for good, 12-7.

When the Falcons got the ball back on their four with 1 minute 25 seconds remaining in the first half, they seemed content to run out the clock. But one play later, Cherrington turned a basic off-tackle play into an 84-yard touchdown run for an 18-6 halftime lead.

Orange (3-5, 0-3) capped the scoring in the fourth quarter. Raul Vital, who replaced starting quarterback Andy Lauridsen late in the third quarter, hit Art Bell on a 65-yard scoring pass down the right sideline.