MIKE CARRILLO rushed for 154 yards and five touchdowns as Garden Grove High defeated Rancho Alamitos 48-3 Friday night at Bolsa Grande Stadium. Mark Diga defends (Orange County Tribune photos by Jim Tortolano).

By Christopher Abdelmalek

A rival is an opponent you play in which an athletic contest is more than just a game; it’s an epic struggle for bragging rights and showing who is the boss. On Friday night Garden Grove and Rancho Alamitos high school’s football teams met for the 60th time, and the boss was again the Argonauts with a 48-3 non-league win at Bolsa Grande Stadium.

“It was a rivalry week,” said Mike Carrillo, who led the red-and-white with 154 yards rushing and five touchdowns. “It was going to [determine] who was going to be the best team in Garden Grove and we wanted to be the best team.”

ARGONAUT quarterback Jacob Zazueta is tackled by a Rancho defender in Grove’s win.

Not only were the Argos the best team as they improved their record to 3-0, the family duo of Mike and Jose Carrillo made a pretty good team all on their own. Mike had two interceptions and a touchdown on defense and Jose had two picks and tipped another pass that was intercepted.

The tone for the game was set in the first series when Mike Carrillo was able to turn the corner and sprint down the sidelines for a 74-yard touchdown that – as it turned out – would be the game-winner. Grove built a 28-3 lead at halftime and never looked back.

Although Garden Grove is primarily a running team, the Argos can pass. Quarterback Jacob Zazueta completed eight of 11 passes for 88 yards and one touchdown (to wide receiver Shawn Haislip).

Of course, Argonaut coach Ricardo Cepeda wanted to talk about the defense. ‘The defense played really well,” he said. “Our guys sat in zone and did a good job of reacting to the football.”

Rancho (1-3) had trouble establishing an offensive rhythm and even a quarterback switch at halftime didn’t help the Vaqueros solve the problem of the Argonaut defense.

Next Friday Garden Grove will be back at Monsoor Stadium to host Pomona High, while Rancho will also be at home, meeting Godinez High of Santa Ana.

GROVE dominated the line both on offense and defense.