Gauchos stifle previously unbeaten Canyons

The Saddleback football team won its fourth straight game with a 19-3 win over College of the Canyons on Saturday night at the stadium.  The Gaucho defense was stout, holding the Cougars to 40 yards rushing.

Saddleback scored first when Jojo Binda ran seven yards for a score with 5:50 remaining in the opening quarter for a 6-0 lead.  It turned out to be the only score the Gauchos would need as the defense frustrated a Cougar offense that entered the game averaging just over 28 points-per-game.

Saddleback upped the lead to 13-0 when backup quarterback Jacob Gibson entered for an injured Johnny Stanton and hit Remy Wasserbach on a 52-yard strike with 3:04 remaining in the half.  It would end up being the final score of the half as Canyons went to the dressing room with just 128 yards of total offense.

Saddleback went back to work on the opening drive of the second half as Gibson found Zach Davis in the back of the end zone from nine yards out, giving the Gauchos a 19-0 lead.  It capped off a nine-play, 46-yard drive after Canyons failed on a fourth down conversion, giving Saddleback great field position.

Canyons finally got on the scoreboard with just 8:03 remaining in the third quarter when Alec Chadwick connected on a 40-yard field goal.  The Cougars would get a couple more chances in the fourth quarter, but turned the ball over on downs on back-to-back drives midway through the fourth, cementing their fate.

Saddleback held a 335-281 advantage in total yards despite Canyons having the ball for over 34 minutes.  The Cougars averaged just 1.3 yards-per-rush as the Gaucho defense was stifling.  Canyons quarterbacks finished only 23-of-53 while Saddleback defensive backs totaled eight pass break-ups on the night.

Connor Toohey (pictured) led the defense, finishing with 12 total tackles and a sack. The Gauchos forced seven quarterback hurries and finished with two sacks, consistently frustrating the Cougar passing game and forcing them into many third-and-long and fourth-and-long situations.

The Saddleback offense went almost exclusively to the running game in the second half, finishing with 163 yards on 42 attempts for the game.  Matt Brock led the way with 49 yards on 10 attempts.

On a side not, the three points surrendered by Saddleback was the least amount of points given up by the Gauchos since week three of the 2009 campaign (San Bernardino, 52-0).

Saddleback improved to 4-2 overall, winning its fourth straight game.  The Gauchos will welcome Grossmont College to town next Saturday for Homecoming.  Game time is set for 6:00 PM.