Saints

Mesa-Santa Ana football gamer for SundaySanta Ana dominates on both sides of the ball in Golden West League victory over the depleted Mustangs Saturday night.SANTA ANA -- Raindrops began falling with less than a minute remaining at the Santa Ana Bowl Saturday night, but the storm clouds spawned much earlier for the Costa Mesa High football team against host and Golden West League foe Santa Ana. The Mustangs, besieged by injuries throughout the season, particularly on the offensive side that have stalled the drive toward continuity, ran into the Saints, who motored at full-throttle on both sides of the ball.

The Newport Harbor High girls field hockey team may have lost 14 seniors and its head coach, but the team didn't lose its knack for winning games. The Sailors, who won the Sunset League title for the fourth time in five seasons and reached the final of the Los Angeles Field Hockey Association Tournament of Champions last year, picked up where it left off with a convincing 3-0 victory over Santa Ana High in a scrimmage at Harper School on Tuesday afternoon.

Bryce Alderton The Santa Ana High boys water polo team has become quite a thorn in the collective side of Estancia and its dreams of reaching the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs the past two years. Santa Ana helped dash Estancia's CIF playoff ambitions a year ago and both teams entered Tuesday's Golden West League clash in the Eagles' pool with similar postseason implications on the line. And for the second straight year the Saints prevailed, this time jumping to a 3-0 lead and holding on for an 8-5 victory that puts the Eagles' playoff hopes in jeopardy.

Two previously unbeaten teams battled, but it was the Costa Mesa Region 120 QuickSilver which came out with the 2-1 win over the Corona del Mar Region 57 Saints in Boys under-14 APP play. QuickSilver's Luu Nguyen headed a ball to midfielder Osbaldo Soto, who booted a 20-yard shot into the upper-right side of the goal to put QuickSilver (4-0-1) up, 2-1, with two minutes left. But Mesa's defense tightened up with solid front line and midfield play coming from Michael Mejia, Rodrigo Botazzi, Benny Edles, Soto, Jorge Oporto, Zack Fisk and Mark Seckel.

SANTA ANA ? There was no miraculous goal, though an Estancia High coach found himself praying for one as the final minutes of the season ticked down Tuesday afternoon. Propelled to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs thanks to a jaw-dropping 79th-minute goal against Norwalk, the Eagles tried for a repeat performance. No such luck. Estancia (11-7-3) lost, 1-0, to former Golden West League rival Santa Ana (22-2-3) at Eddie West Field after Friday?

DON CANTRELL The Santa Ana wind often has a staggering impact on events within reach when they arise from the desert floor and roar across the Southland. It was no different during the fall of 1946 at the Santa Ana Bowl when Newport Harbor High lined up to confront Santa Ana High, defending CIF champions. One statistic alone provided an indication of how shocking it would be throughout the contest before an estimated 4,000 fans. That one statistic came early after Harbor quarterback Buzz Chambers, who averaged 45 yards per punt, booted the ball on fourth down, then found the gusting wind whipping the pigskin back over his head.

Bryce Alderton It took six games, but Costa Mesa High football players could finally walk off the field Friday night knowing they achieved the ultimate goal: Winning. In front of a festive homecoming crowd, the Mustangs ran away from the Saints, literally, posting 243 total rushing yards en route to a 38-24 Golden West League victory over visiting Santa Ana at Newport Harbor High, which snapped a seven-game losing streak dating to the final two games of last season.

Having completed its first varsity Academy League season last week, the Sage Hill High football team hopes to put an end to its three-game losing streak when its meets St. Anthony tonight at 7 at Clark Field in Long Beach. The Saints are in the midst of much longer victory drought, having dropped their last 17 contests, including 0-8 this season. Sage Hill (3-5) is anxious to add another victory to its debut season and appears capable of extending the Saints' woes.

COsta Mesa grid pre vs. Santa AnaThe Costa Mesa High football team has lost its six games this season, but Mustangs Coach Jay Johnson believes his squad has faced seven opponents. "We've held ourselves back," said Johnson, whose unit visits the Santa Ana Bowl Saturday at 7 p.m. for a Golden West League clash against Santa Ana. The Saints (3-2, 2-0 in league) are tied with Westminster atop the league standings. Westminster topped Costa Mesa, 47-6, Friday, dropping the Mustangs to 0-6, 0-2. Costa Mesa has lost eight straight, dating back to last season.

LONG BEACH - For the first time in Bryan Rice's four-year head coaching tenure at his alma mater, the Costa Mesa High boys' basketball team reached a tournament championship game Saturday night. It went by too fast at St. Anthony High - literally. The pace of the game was too speedy for the Mustangs. St. Anthony forced Costa Mesa into 26 turnovers. The Saints protected their home court, winning their host tournament, 69-50, in a game that was still closer than the final score would suggest.

IRVINE — There was a time when UC Irvine men's soccer players and coaches would have taken consolation in winning the Big West Conference regular-season and tournament titles, then not catching a break in the NCAA Tournament. But it speaks to the progress that the recent frequency of those accomplishments has created that those days no longer exist. So it was that after the Anteaters lost, 2-1, in the second overtime of their NCAA second-round match against visiting Saint Mary's on Sunday, UCI Coach George Kuntz delivered this news to his heartbroken team.

A few years ago, my son-in-law enrolled for a master's degree at a renowned theological seminary. Soon after, he was asked to meet with the admissions director. He was asked if he was a Mormon, to which he replied "yes. " He was then informed that Mormons were not eligible for admission, and he was dis-enrolled. In that discussion the word "cult" was used pejoratively. It came to mind again when The Rev. Robert Jeffress, an evangelical leader, recently endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry for the GOP presidential nomination over Mitt Romney, a Mormon.

NEWPORT COAST - In the hours before Sage Hill's thrilling 29-28 win over Crean Lutheran in Friday's Academy League opener, Lightning Coach J.R. Tolver said his team had a heart-to-heart meeting. The results never proved more true as four Sage Hill players stepped up in a big way to help snap a five-game losing streak to teams with a combined record of 20-10. "We had a meeting today," Tolver said. "I asked them, 'Who is the most important member of this team?' The kids banded together and said no one is more important than the team.

After coming off the previous week's 32-7 victory against Rowland Heights, the Pee Wee Division of the Newport Mesa Seahawks, looked like it was going to start their second game off in the hole. Instead, the Seahawks defeated Norwalk, 34-6. After a booming kickoff, the Norwalk Saints ran the ball back all the way down to the Seahawks' 10-yard line. But four times the Saints ran the ball looking to take an early lead, and four times the Seahawks defense held. Defenders Blake Kormos, Kobe Benter, Jack Genova, Mitch Haly and Jake Jones denied the Saints the end zone, and the Seahawks took over the ball at their own two-yard line.

Super Bowl Sunday will sure to be extra special for Ray Rando, a Newport Beach resident who grew up in New Orleans. There’s no doubt he loves the Saints. He’s been a die-hard fan ever since he was a child. When he was 8, he met Archie Manning, one of the all-time greatest Saints, during a training camp practice and went home with an autographed football. Rando later became a friend of Manning’s son, Cooper, and he watched Peyton grow up when they all would sometimes work out together at the Archie Manning Gold’s Gym. So Rando’s been rooting for the Saints back when they were the “Aints,” and a paper bag to cover the face was the proper attire for home games.

Super Bowl Sunday will sure to be extra special for Ray Rando, a Newport Beach resident who grew up in New Orleans. There’s no doubt he loves the Saints. He’s been a die-hard fan ever since he was a child. When he was 8, he met Archie Manning, one of the all-time greatest Saints, during a training camp practice and went home with an autographed football.

NEWPORT COAST — The Sage Hill School football team found itself in a tricky spot Friday. The Lightning faced Crean Lutheran South on homecoming night but couldn’t afford to look past the winless Saints in anticipation of a huge game Friday against St. Margaret’s that had Academy League championship implications written all over it. Sage Hill was too prepared to get caught looking ahead and took care of the Saints, 41-0....