Brandon RowleyEven before kickoff, Mt. San Antonio had control.
The Mounties, ranked No. 7 in the state, walked into the Santa Ana Bowl as if it were home turf, waving their own flag like the stadium was to be conquered territory in battle.
Fast-forward three minutes into the game and Mt. San Antonio already had a 14-point lead over Santa Ana in a game that was doomed from the start.
The Santa Ana Dons would fall to the Mt. San Antonio Mounties by a final score of 52-0 on Saturday night, in what has been a landslide of a season with their sixth loss in a row to start the year.
“Obviously, they’re a really good team, they’re on top for a reason,” said head coach Simon Fuentes. “Our team doesn’t give up, which I love. We have to go through this storm and push out on the other side.”
The Dons were outclassed in all aspects of the game; they were shut out, allowed 531 yards, lost two fumbles and had more punting yards than they had yards of total offense.
The first drive of the game for the Dons ended in a punt that was snapped high, going over the punter’s head, resulting in the Mounties recovering it at the three-yard line.
“We definitely shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times,” said defensive coach James Guglielmana.
It seemed like there was always pressure in the Santa Ana backfield, with Mt. San Antonio racking up six sacks, holding Santa Ana to 0.8 yards per rush and forcing five holding penalties.
“We have to prepare better, we have to work harder in the weight room and we’ve got to work harder on the field,” said quarterback Justin Gil.
At halftime, Mt. San Antonio was up 42-0 after closing out the half by blocking Santa Ana’s only field goal attempt of the game.
“The team continues to fight through. We only gave up 10 points in the second half,” said Coach Guglielmana. “They have heart, they fight. I can always continue to coach that up.”
The second-half defense was what seemed to be the only redeeming factor for the Dons, holding them to a field goal, grabbing an interception and forcing a fumble all in the third quarter.
Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t build on any of the defense’s momentum, sending back punts and responding with turnovers of their own.
“We have to take it as a learning experience, rather than a loss,” said Gil.
Now 0-3 in conference and nearing the end of the season, Long Beach, Ventura, Moorepark and Santa Barbara are the final opponents on their schedule.
“We’re chasing our first win, and that’s obviously the elephant in the room,” said Coach Fuentes. “We just have to improve.”
Their next home game will be their final one, facing off against No. 3-ranked Ventura College on Saturday, Oct. 25.
“There’s only one thing to do, and it’s keep moving forward,” said Coach Fuentes. “The only question is whether we are disciplined and mature enough to do it. I believe we’re showing it, and we have been.”
