MidValleySports.Com

By Ron Vrooman

(Alhambra) – The visiting Santa Rosa Academy Rangers capitalized on their ball-control offense and mistakes by Alhambra to take the lead in the second half and then hold on for a 31-26 victory over the Moors Friday night.

The loss dampened career-best games by Alhambra quarterback Josh Calderon and slot receiver Zack Chacon. Calderon completed 14 of 17 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, and Chacon made eight catches for 193 yards and two of those scores.

The fact that the Moors scored on three of their four possessions in the first half and still led by a margin of only 20-14 at the intermission indicated that it wouldn’t be easy to take down the Rangers. Another indication was that the Moors were able to run for only 18 yards up to that point. 

Things got worse for Alhambra in the second half, when Santa Rosa Academy scored 17 unanswered points to build a 31-20 lead with 4:15 left in the game.

The Rangers, aided by three crucial penalties on the same drive in the third quarter and two Alhambra fumbles later on, ran 42 plays in the second half as they scored three times and took valuable time off the clock. In contrast, the Moors had only 11 plays from scrimmage after the halftime break.

After Eric Schauer kicked a 42-yard field goal to increase the Rangers’ lead to 24-20 with 8:10 left, a fumble by Chacon on the Moors’ next possession set up the decisive touchdown for Santa Rosa Academy. 

On first down at the Alhambra 36, Chacon caught a short pass from Calderon and was hit the instant he turned to run upfield; the ball came loose and the Rangers recovered at the 36. Seven plays later, Santa Rosa Academy quarterback Andrew Sharp scored on a one-yard sneak to put his team ahead, 31-20.

Despite all of that, the Moors were not finished yet, as they drove 74 yards to cut their deficit to 31-26 with 2:45 to go.

The key play on the drive was a 64-yard pass from Calderon to Chacon which took the ball all the way down to the Rangers’ 10-yard line. On second down from the 10, Calderon threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Steven Escobar, but Alhambra’s subsequent attempt for a two-point conversion failed after Calderon fumbled the snap from center.

The Moors then tried an onside kick, but the Rangers were given possession because an Alhambra player touched the ball before it traveled the required 10 yards. Santa Rosa Academy proceeded to run out the clock to secure a hard-earned victory.

Sharp led the Rangers to their win, completing 14 of 22 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for 59 yards and a pair of additional scores. Receiver Christopher Ramirez was a thorn in the Moors’ side, catching both TD throws and ending up with eight receptions for 140 yards.

Santa Rosa Academy gained 304 yards from scrimmage, including 137 yards on the ground. Alhambra, on the other hand, got all 257 of its yards through the air, as the Moors ended up rushing for -2 yards.

The game was marred by penalties; Santa Rosa Academy was penalized 14 times for 112 yards, while Alhambra was flagged nine times for a total of 105 yards. The Menifee-based Rangers improved their record to 4-3, while the Moors fell to 4-3 to finish their nonleague schedule. 

Alhambra will play its first-ever Alliance League game against the South El Monte Eagles at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood this coming Thursday night. The Eagles, who are 5-2 on the season, are coming off a 44-0 victory over Mountain View.