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| Roger Rickman (35) scored three touchdowns for the Patriots in Friday's big win. |
See the video highlights from the game below!
By Dan Kidder
Friday night marked the 2014 season's first clash between Escondido rivals, as the Escondido Charter White Tigers hosted the Orange Glen Patriots in a varsity football matchup.
The Patriots, technically the visiting team despite playing on their home field, took advantage of a strong defensive effort early and an unstoppable rushing attack to beat the White Tigers 48-12.
Roger Rickman led the ground assault with three touchdown runs, including a one-yard score in the first half and scoring runs of 22 and 13 yards in the second half.
Orange Glen's defense got the scoring started with an interception by Daniel Bonahoom that the senior linebacker returned 40 yards for the game's opening touchdown. Rickman ran the ball in to add the two-point conversion, giving the Pats an 8-0 lead with 3:33 left in the first quarter.
Rickman's one-yard touchdown plunge came with just 21 seconds remaining in the opening period, putting Orange Glen up 16-0, but Escondido Charter responded with a 70-yard touchdown run by Mutula Kwangaba on the first play of the second quarter, cutting the lead down to 16-6.
The Patriots recovered a White Tiger fumble late in the first half to set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Christian Morales to Aaron Palomino, putting Orange Glen up 24-6 at halftime.
The Pats extended the lead to 32-6 on Rickman's 22-yard touchdown with just over four minutes left in the third quarter. Then after an interception by Kamara Johnson deep in their own territory, the Patriots drove 95 yards down the field to score on Rickman's 13-yard run, giving Orange Glen a 40-6 lead with 9:10 left in the fourth quarter.
The White Tigers responded with a good scoring drive, covering 55 yards in three plays, capped by a 26-yard touchdown run by Kwangaba, making the score 40-12 with 8:38 left in the game.
But the Patriots shut down any hopes of a White Tiger comeback with the final score of the game, a 35-yard touchdown scamper by Tyrone Hickson that sealed the big win.
"You understand that our goal is to play our best football no matter who our opponent is or what the score looks like," Orange Glen head coach Jason Patterson told his team after the game. "I don't think I've ever won by 30 and been so frustrated. But I applaud you guys; even though we came out sluggish, the defense made some plays and kept us in it early, and we played much better in the second half. We're nowhere near where we need to be, but we're going to enjoy this win and get back to work on Monday."
Video by Dan Kidder
