Sultans sneak out of desert with victory
- Updated: September 23, 2017
2017 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL
SANTANA 50, VINCENT MEMORIAL 43
By Jim Lindgren
Special to EastCountySports.com
EL CENTRO – No matter that it was the first day of autumn, a long bus ride to the Imperial Valley to play the No. 1-ranked team in Division V seemed like a wayward idea for the Santana Sultans on Friday night.
The long bus ride home, though, was a happy one after JOSH OEDEWALDT scored on a quarterback sneak with 23 seconds left in the game to pull out a wild 50-43 victory over Vincent Memorial at Southwest High School.
“It was fun for the fans to watch, I’m sure,” Santana coach TIM ESTES said. “It was crazy.
“We faced a lot of adversity, but played hard all four quarters. We hadn’t done that all year. I’m really proud of our guys.”
Oedewaldt tossed a first-quarter touchdown pass to DAVON CHESTNUT and sophomore BROOKS MOUTAW scored the first of his four TDs as the Sultans took a 14-0 lead.
Vincent Memorial, however, answered with two scores to knot things, 14-14, and the Scots led at halftime 21-20.
Santana posted three touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 43-29 lead, but Vincent came back with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to tie it 43-43 with about 4 minutes left.
Oedewaldt’s first TD run of the season lifted the Sultans to 3-2, while the Scots fell to 4-1.
In his first varsity game, Moutaw rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns.
LANDON WOOD had 17 tackles, a sack and recovered the loose ball after a blocked field goal by BRAYDEN NIETO. In addition to his TD catch, Chestnut returned an interception for a touchdown.
“We played a complete game,” Estes said. “Even our special teams did really well.
“Vincent Memorial is a really good team. I can’t see anybody beating them in the Division V playoffs.”
Santana never punted. Oedewaldt now has eight touchdown passes against only one interception.
The Sultans play at Mar Vista next week in Imperial Beach. The Mariners improved to 3-2 after a 28-21 win over University City.
