Two Gauchos earn POW

The Saddleback football team made a statement on Saturday with a 39-7 win over Golden West College at homecoming.  Two Gauchos were recognized with league player-of-the-week honors.

Saddleback has started the season at 5-1 and with the wins comes recognition.  This week the Gauchos had two more players honored as Ryan Nieman was named the Southern California Football Association Southern League Defensive Player-of-the-Week while Christian Rabay was named Special Team/All-Purpose Player-of-the-Week.

Nieman led the team in two categories, finishing with eight tackles and four passes broken-up.  In addition, he registered ½ tackle-for-loss.  The sophomore from Redlands East Valley High School now leads Saddleback in both categories through six games, totaling 37 tackles and five pass break-ups.

Rabay was a force on the special teams and defense on Saturday night.  He blocked two straight punt attempts by Golden West and finished with five tackles, ½ tackle-for-loss and a quarterback hurry.  The sophomore from Centennial High School now has 30 tackles for the season, leading the Gauchos in both interceptions (2) and blocked kicks (3).

Saddleback has a massive game this week when they travel to Fullerton College to take on the top-ranked Hornets.  Game time is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Yorba Linda High School.