Third straight loss for Dons as comeback against Huskies falls short

Continuing their rough start to the season, the Santa Ana Dons lost a nail-biting game to the East LA Huskies 35-30 at home Saturday night.

The Dons, now 0-3, are without their starting quarterback, Nate Bento, after being injured in the previous game against Chaffey. Stepping up for his first start was quarterback Justin Gil.

“It feels good to be back out here,” said Gil. “I really wish we could have come out with that victory. But we’re gonna learn from this.”

With less than two minutes left in the game, Santa Ana was down 12 points in what seemed like a hopeless situation until they drove down the field in five plays, resulting in a touchdown pass from Gil to receiver Damian Gomez in a 58-yard, 25-second drive.

Unfortunately, for the Dons, with only 1:13 left on the clock, they needed an onside kick for a chance to win the game, but they couldn’t come up with the ball, resulting in a five-point Huskies win. 

“When it came down to the end, we couldn’t finish the game,” said defensive coach James Guglielmana. “We played three and a half quarters of good football, but the last half-quarter wasn’t there.”

The late touchdown by Gomez was part of an amazing game by the sophomore receiver and returner. He brought in five catches for 157 yards, over 30 yards per catch, while returning two kickoffs for 95 yards between them.

“I just have to do my job out there,” Gomez said. “And when everyone does their job, that’s when we thrive as a team.”

While it was an impressive performance for Gil in his first start, Huskies quarterback Logan Ebnet put together 357 passing yards with four touchdowns and one interception, torching the Dons’ secondary.

“It’s like we take one step forward, two steps back. There’s no excuse, I have to do better,” said Dons head coach Simon Fuentes. “We’re gonna fix it. We’re getting better every game. The score may not reflect it, but we are.”

Still searching for their first win, Santa Ana will head into league play, opening with an away game against Allan Hancock next week, and will return home on Oct. 27 against Citrus College.

“I trust the guys around me, and I’m going to go in every single day and work my tail off,” said Gil. “I want us all to be successful. So we’re just going to continue to work hard and come back even stronger.”