Big Second Half Lifts Mount Miguel Over Santana

Santana High School's dream of achieving the first-ever championship in the new Grossmont Valley League was vanquished much quicker than the Sultans had hoped.

Things started well when Sultans defender Jason Patterson returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown for a 7-0 lead just 1:47 into Friday night's game at Matadors Stadium. But GVL pre-season favorite Mount Miguel was in control the rest of the way, registering 27 unanswered points in the second half to whip the Sultans 41-10 .

Mount Miguel running back Derrick Dunn rushed for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the go-ahead, 4-run gallop early in the second quarter to fuel the offense.

Then the Matadors defense took over, limiting Santana to just a late first-half field goal, applying the finishing touches on the homecoming victory when cornerback Jeff Dewall ran back an interception 53 yards for a touchdown.

Mount Miguel's defensive effort was even better than the 207 yards allowed listed in the final stats, considering Santana collected a cosmetic 95 yards in the fourth quarter against the reserves, long after the game had been decided.

Sultans kicker Brad Cornish booted a 26-yard field goal with 24 seconds left in the half, cutting the Santana deficit to 14-10 and allowing the visitors to carry some momentum into the locker room.

However, Mount Miguel surprised everyone in attendance with an onside kick to open the second half, with the Matadors' Anthony Ortega recovering the ball without a Santana player in the vicinity of the squibed football.

Among the remaining few highlights for Santana were sacks by Patterson and Daniel Hayes. Both are juniors.

Santana (4-3-1, 0-2 GVL), which has now lost three straight following a 4-3-1 start to its season, returns home Friday to entertain another team struggling on offense, Monte Vista (1-6, 0-1).

Mount Miguel (7-1, 2-0) has a bye Friday before hosting El Capitan on Nov. 5.

Santana                7     3     0     0  --  10
Mount Miguel   7     7    14  13  --  41

S - Patterson 36 interception return (Cornish kick), 10:13
M - Mohamed 14 pass from Williams (Medina kick), 3:55
M - Dunn 4 run (Medina kick), 10:59
S - FG Cornish 26, 0:24
M - Monroy 45 run (Medina kick), 10:25
M - Dunn 9 run (Medina kick), 8:08
M - Ortega 42 pass from Williams, 8:41
M - Dewall 53 interception return (kick failed), 6:52

Special to Lemon Grove, La Mesa and Santee Patch from EastCountySports.com