Western Pioneers defeat the Argonauts

By OC Tribune Staff on October 3, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

ISIAH DEL TORO (7) quarterbacked Western to a 35-0 win over Garden Grove High Thursday night at Handel Stadium. He threw for four touchdowns in the victory (Orange County Tribune photos by Jim Tortolano).

By Christopher Abdelmalek

Quarterback Isiah Del Toro helped the Pioneers of Western High School march past the Argonauts of Garden Grove High School to the tune of 35-0 Thursday night at Handel Stadium.

The win improved Western’s record to 5-1 and handed the Argos (3-3) their first defeat after winning three straight.

Del Toro passed for a game-high 227 yards and four touchdowns in the victory in the non-league contest.

Even though the Pioneers gave the ball up on the goal line on their very first drive, Del Toro was able to control the offense with flawless precision. He finished the first half going 15-of-17 for 178 yards and three of his touchdown passes. One of those touchdowns was to Caine Savage who finished the game as the game’s leading receiver with 12 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown.

ARGO DEFENDERS bring down Western ballcarrier in action Thursday night at Handel Stadium.

Not to be outdone by his brother, Cassius Savage had two touchdowns and 35 yards in receiving for the Pioneers as well. The Savage brothers were a key factor in the victory tonight over Grove. Coach Dan Davidson talked about his favorite wide receivers after the game, saying “My number one is Cassius because he wears number one and my favorite number two is Caine because he wears the number 2.”

Clearly there are no favorites on the team as the ball was spread around fairly evenly tonight across the board as Del Toro finished the game 20-for-26 for 227 yards and those four touchdowns. Davidson was proud of his quarterback progression. “What he is doing is understanding our offense,” he said.

The Argos struggled to sustain any kind of momentum in the game as their offensive line was simply not strong enough to hold up against the physical defensive line of the Pioneers. Coach Ricardo Cepeda of Garden Grove spoke on the Pioneer’s defense after the game, saying “They did a good job stopping the run. We finally got some momentum at the end of the half but we ran out of time. The difference is their guys made the plays and we didn’t.”

Western’s defense played lights-out the whole night, posting a shutout for the fifth straight game and setting a school record. Argo quarterback Czlan Lobaugh was only able to complete a total of three passes. Austin Ceja was the offensive leader tonight for Grove leading the way with just under 90 yards for the game.

Western High School will host Artesia High School (2-3) next week on Thursday night. Garden Grove (3-3) will play host to Laguna Hills High School (3-2) next on also on Thursday night. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. kickoffs.

Here are scores for teams serving the Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Westminster from Thursday night. Scores are posted as they are received.