PREP FOOTBALL : Western Struggles to a 20-10 Win

Western High School overcame several mistakes Thursday night in struggling to a 20-10 nonleague victory over Rancho Alamitos in Handel Stadium at Anaheim.

The Pioneers (2-3) managed just one offensive touchdown, turned the ball over twice and were called for 9 penalties totaling 75 yards.

“It’s amazing we’ve got two wins,” said Jim Howell, Western coach. “We’re just not getting the job done. We’ve been a good two-minute offensive team all year. We’ve usually scored at either the end of the first half or the end of the game, but we stumble around in between.”

Indeed, Western’s sole offensive score came at the end of the first half, as the Pioneers drove 49 yards five plays. Quarterback Rich Lodding completed all four of his passes, including a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ruben Gomez with three seconds remaining to give Western a 17-0 halftime edge.

Western took a 7-0 lead just 1:12 into the game, as defensive back Donn Thompson picked up a Rancho Alamitos fumble at the Vaqueros’ 28 and ran it in for a touchdown. Rick Micklos kicked field goals of 28 and 23 yards for the Pioneers.

Rancho Alamitos (1-1) did all of its scoring in the second half on a 33-yard field goal by Jeff Crosby and a 4-yard run by Sean Cheathan with 15 seconds to play.