By Tony Solorzano
Whittier, CA – A three-touchdown night from Aaron Garcia gave the California Condors a bounce back 33-14 homecoming victory over Sonora High Friday night at Whittier District Field.
After last week’s 21-10 loss to Troy, the Condors (2-1, 0-0) gelled behind the rushing performance of both Garcia and Justin Dankert who combined for over 260 yards on the ground.
“Justin finally understood the benefit of running between the tackles,” said Condors head coach Jim Arnold. “He really made an impact tonight.”
The game was going to be a long one for the Raiders (1-3, 0-0) when on their first play of the game, quarterback Kyle Mahlstede was intercepted by Cal’s Isaak Flores at the Raider 35. Eleven plays later, Garcia scored the first of his three scores from five yards out, putting the Condors up 7-0.
In the second, kicker Eric Amesquita increased the lead to 10-0 with a 45-yard field goal with 7:55 left in the half. Sonora had a golden opportunity to get on the board late in the half but Mahlstede was intercepted in the end zone by Drew Castro.
The third quarter was the turning point for the Condors as Garcia and Amesquita both scored again. Garcia scored from 23 yards out with 8:09 left in the quarter and Amesquita connected another field goal, this one from 23 yards out with four minutes left. The Raiders finally scored with 2:10 left on Aaron Nichols rushed for an 11-yard score.
Early in the fourth, Gabriel lozano put the game out of reach with a 24-yard run with 10:51 left in the game. Garcia closed out the scores with a nmonster 58-yard rush that put the score 33-7 with 3:18 left. Nichols got a second score with 1:14 left, but the Condors recovered the onside kick and ended with a knee.
In addition to Garcia’s 132 yards, Dankert led the ground game with 11 carries for 134 yards, while Lozano had nine carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. Nichols carried the ball 14 times for 91 yards and his two scores.
Cal heads out on a five-week road trip, starting next Friday at Schurr.
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