East County Sports

Sultans even better late against Aztecs

Santana players celebrate their fifth win of the season on Friday night.

2019 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

SANTANA 35, MONTGOMERY 6

 

By Jim Lindgren

Special to EastCountySports.com

 

SAN DIEGO – After a long and arduous, 75-minute bus ride from Santee into the South Bay, Santana took far less time to establish its stronghold atop the Division IV ratings in the San Diego Section.

In a battle of unbeaten teams rated No. 1 and 2 in the division, Santana raced past Montgomery 35-6 on Friday night to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2011.

Nathan Temple completed 9-of-12 passes for 212 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Sultans (5-0) over the Aztecs (4-1).

Temple connected four times with favorite target Randy Smith for 63 yards and three touchdowns.

Nate Hughes caught two balls for 78 yards and a touchdown, plus he had two interceptions, seven tackles and was 5-for-5 on PAT kicks.

Santana hit some terrible traffic and didn’t arrive at Montgomery until 25 minutes before the scheduled 7 p.m. start.

“The guys were a little out of their routine, but once they got going they were great,” Santana coach Tim Estes said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way we played. The kids played hard.

“They seemed to have gelled very well. It’s a big senior class with 27 seniors. It’s been a really fun year.”

Temple got things rolling in the first quarter with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Smith to take a 7-0 lead.

The Sultans upped the lead to 14-0 in the second quarter on a 12-yard pass from Temple to Smith.

Montgomery scored late in the second quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Alexander Dixie to Isiah King, capping an 80-yard drive. Santana’s Luke Simanek (five tackles) blocked the PAT kick to make it 14-6 at intermission.

Brooks Moutaw made it 21-6 in the third quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run. Moutaw finished with 69 yards on 14 carries.

Hughes then hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass from Temple for a 28-6 lead in the fourth quarter.

Smith grabbed another TD pass from Temple – this one from 24 yards – to finish the scoring.

“That was a fun game,” Estes said. “We played very well on both sides of the ball. We got a number of contributions from a lot of players.”

Jared Forster caught two passes for 62 yards.

Michael Richter had 14 tackles and three sacks. Dawud Sadler posted eight tackles and Moutaw six. Nick Valentine recorded five tackles and an interception.

Temple has now thrown for 981 yards and 18 TDs, while Smith has 21 receptions for 419 yards and 11 TDs.

The Sultans have now outscored their opponents 203-32.

Santana next plays host to another undefeated team, Vincent Memorial, the top-rated team in Division V. The Scots (5-0) routed El Cajon Valley, 35-6, on Friday.

SANTANA 35, MONTGOMERY 6

Montgomery 0 6 0  0 — 6

Santana    7 7 7 14 — 35

S — Randy Smith 31 pass from Nathan Temple (Nate Hughes kick)

S — Randy Smith 12 pass from Nathan Temple (Nate Hughes kick)

M — Isiah King 15 pass from Alexander Dixie (kick failed)

S — Brooks Moutaw 2 run (Nate Hughes kick)

S — Nate Hughes 28 pass from Nathan Temple (Nate Hughes kick)

S — Randy Smith 24 pass from Nathan Temple (Nate Hughes kick)

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