Loara Errs Less Often, Turns Back Anaheim

There was little either side liked about Loara’s 33-6 nonleague football victory over Anaheim at Glover Stadium Thursday night.

“We won, but that’s about it. It was a very sloppy game,” said Loara Coach John deFries. “Both teams were very, very young and made a lot of mistakes.”

Anaheim Coach Allen Carter agreed.

“Green,” he said. “You could see it and feel it in the air what with all the mistakes.”

Loara (1-1) was a little less green. The Saxons blocked five Anaheim punts and held the Colonists to only 41 total yards. Anaheim (0-2) fumbled five times, lost one, and turned the ball over on a bad snap on another punt attempt.

The Saxons weren’t setting the world on fire, either, deFries said. Rather, they got good scoring opportunities handed to them. That isn’t going to happen every night, he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll learn from this and be better by the time the season is over,” he said.

Loara managed only 51 yards rushing and 142 yards overall, the bulk of it was in the fourth quarter when the game had been decided.

The Saxons had the ball three times deep in Anaheim territory in the first quarter before taking a 7-0 lead. Loara’s first drive ended on the Colonists’ one-yard line on downs, the second ended on a muffed 47-yard field-goal attempt. A three-yard run by quarterback Sean Kehoe ended a three-play, 11-yard scoring drive that finally put points on the board after one of those blocked punts.

Wide receiver Johnny Patton caught second-half touchdown passes of 21 and 11 yards for Loara.

The lone bright spot for Anaheim came early in the fourth quarter, when backup quarterback Robert Ramirez capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a two-yard plunge. The drive, aided by three major penalties against Loara, included Ramirez’s fumbled snap on second and goal at the Saxon four. Ramirez recovered the ball and jumped over center for a two-yard gain, equaling his longest run from scrimmage in eight attempts.