Big plays cost Gauchos in loss at Riverside

The Saddleback football team lost its second straight game on Saturday night at Riverside, 38-31.  The Gauchos had 470 yards of offense but gave up a number of big plays in falling to 1-2 on the season.

Saddleback knew it had its hands full taking on the No. 1 ranked team in the nation and nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback.  Trailing 38-14 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Gauchos rallied for 17 straight points but ran out of time.

Saddleback outgained the Tigers 470-412 but was victimized by a number of big plays.  The Gauchos drove down the field on their opening drive of the game only to see a pass bounce off a receivers hands and into a Tiger defenders hands, who returned it 87 yards for the opening score of the game. 

Later in the second quarter, Riverside receiver Sam Boyd broke free from a defender and quarterback Skyler Howard hit him in stride for a 77-yard score.  The final score for the Tigers came on a 61-yard pass play from Howard to Kenny Torrance, giving the Tigers a big lead.

In between it was Saddleback that seemingly controlled the tempo, moving the chains 26 times as Tim Belman finished 37-of-58 for 432 yards and two touchdown passes.  His final touchdown of the game came on fourth and 10 when he hit Dominick Ela near the sidelines, who pitched the ball to Lee Griggs on the hook-and-ladder for a 28-yard score to cut the lead to 38-31 with 3:43 remaining in the game.

Unfortunately, the Saddleback defense ran out of gas on the final drive and couldn't get a stop on third and one, cutting the Gaucho comeback short.  Saddleback played gamely on defense despite the big plays, led by Trevor Douglass and his nine tackles.

It was the second straight loss for the Gauchos, who now stand at 1-2 heading into a bye week.  Saddleback will play again on October 5 at Santa Ana College.