Bobcats surge past AVC

The Saddleback football team picked up its first win of the season with a 38-21 victory over Antelope Valley College on Saturday at the stadium.  The Bobcats wore down the Marauders to improve to 1-2 on the season.

Saddleback used a dominating rushing attack, gashing the Antelope Valley defense for 314 yards on the ground.  The Bobcats finished with 559 yards of offense, scoring 21 straight points in the fourth quarter.

Saddleback jumped out to a 14-0 lead as Paolo Burak had a short touchdown to open the scoring at 4:23 of the opening quarter and Ezekiel Peirce raced 12 yards for a score midway through the second quarter for a two-score lead. 

Unfortunately, Saddleback couldn't hold on to the lead as Antelope Valley connected on two touchdown passes in the second quarter to tie the score.

Saddleback took a 17-14 lead into the locker room when Kian Afrookhteh connected on a short field goal with 16 seconds left in the half.

Saddleback looked as if it would push the lead back to double-digits midway through the third quarter, but a 100-yard interception return from Jordan Baker off a deflected pass gave Antelope Valley a 21-17 lead with 6:37 left in the third quarter.

Saddleback then went back to the ground game, with Kenny Manassero, Ezekiel Peirce and Paolo Burak providing a three-headed monster.  The trio wore down a short-manned Marauder defense as the offense turned up the heat.

Trey Kukuk put the Bobcats back in front at 12:54 of the fourth quarter when he connected with Marques Carrillo Edgar on a 35-yard touchdown pass.  Kukuk then found Tristin Duncan in the corner of the end zone with a 10-yard strike at 5:19, putting the Bobcats up 31-21. Saddleback added the final dagger a minute later when Burak raced around the left and for a 17-yard score.

Manassero (pictured) had a big day, piling up 168 yards of total offense.  He led the team with 102 yards rushing on 13 carries and led the team with five catches for 66 yards through the air.  Quarterback Branden Berwald was second on the team in rushing, finishing with 71 yards on five carries.

Saddleback's defense was solid throughout, holding Antelope Valley to 248 yards of total offense.  The defensive front had a dominating second half as the Bobcat defenders gave up zero points over the final 30 minutes. 

Saddleback finished with eight sacks for the night, turning up the heat on AVC quarterback Sharmon Rester.  Brennen Acosta had a huge performance, finishing with nine tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack.  Michael D'Amato finished with seven tackles, one sack and one of the more spectacular interceptions in program history when he leaped and grabbed a ball with one hand while falling backwards to the turf. 

Saddleback improved to 1-2 with the win.  The Bobcats will open National Division Southern League play next week at Southwestern College.  The kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM in Chula Vista.