Rustlers claim the Victory Bell in grueling fashion

Costa Mesa, Calif. - Just like the season prior, Golden West put the hurt on Orange Coast while securing a 55-7 victory in the "Battle for the Bell" Saturday night at LeBard Stadium.

In every rivalry game, you want your team to start off with a bang. That is exactly what Golden West (7-2, 4-1) did as Jacob Anderson recovered a fumble and returned it 47 yards to the house. That fumble recovery ignited the Rustlers' scoring barrage resulting in 42 unanswered points, most coming in the first half.

Rustlers' star quarterback Chris d'Entemont had himself a night scoring five consecutive times, four through the air and one on the ground. His first passing score was a 6-yard pass to Quest Truxton late in the first quarter. This was made possible thanks to Truxton's 46-yard reception earlier in the drive.

D'Entremont found Zimari Manning for two scores in a row of 7 and 52 yards respectively. Golden West went into halftime in the most exciting was possible. With four seconds remaining and Golden West at the Orange Coast's 35-yardline, d'Entermont threw Mike Covelli a 15-yard pass. Covelli then pitched the ball back to Truxton and he ran 20 yards to complete the touchdown as time expired.

Golden West was able to keep its momentum going into the third quarter as Truxton returned the second half kickoff 78 yards to set up a 4-yard rushing score from d'Entremont.

Orange Coast showed a little life on the ensuing drive thanks to quarterback Cody Whitaker's 55-yard passing score to Davasyia Hagger. That would be all for the Pirates and Golden West scored twice more to put a lid on this game.

As time expired in the third quarter, Rustlers' speedster Johnny Hills exploded for a 57-yard rushing score. The contests final score came on the Rustlers' final drive, a 7-yard rushing touchdown from Kekou Akengue.

To go along with his 4 passing touchdowns, d'Entemont went 17-26 and 258 yards, which added to his state-leading total of 2,851 yards passing. Those 4 scores brought his state-leading touchdown total to 37 and is the current leader in passing yards per game with 316.8.

Golden West will play the final game of the regular season Saturday, Nov. 15 against Saddleback starting at 6 p.m. at LeBard Stadium. A victory for Golden West secures second place outright in the SCFA National Southern Conference.

Written By: Kyle Infante