AZTEC QUARTERBACK Charles Grover is rounded up by a Lion defender as Westminster defeated La Quinta 41-9 Friday night at Boswell Field (Orange County Tribune photo by Jim Tortolano).

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune

The Westminster High School band played “Rule, Britannia” after every success of the Lion football team Friday night, so   much so that neighbors living within earshot of Bill Boswell Field may still be hearing the tune in their dreams.

In the season opener for both teams – and a contest for the mythical “City of Westminster” championship – WHS rolled past La Quinta 41-9.

The Lions, employing a multi-faceted attack, led 13-0 after the first quarter and 27-0 at the half and went on to the win. They took the opening kickoff and drove to the Aztec 29, where Alex Solano threw a touchdown pass for the game’s initial score at 9:35 of the first quarter. The conversion failed and WHS led 6-0.

After the Aztecs punted, Solano found Ezekial Cedello for a 36-yard strike at the 5:35 mark and after the PAT, it was 13-0.

When it looked like the Aztecs had finally stalled the Lions on a fourth and 25, the home team solved the puzzle with a halfback pass that set up another Lion TD and a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter. 

Solano’s third touchdown of the half with 1:36 before halftime made it 27-0. A late Aztec surge before intermission was snuffed out by an interception.

The rest of the game was a little quieter as the Lions outscored their guests in the second half by 14-9, but for the winners, the music lingered.

Next Friday, Westminster will taken on another Garden Grove League team, Los Amigos, at Monsoor Stadium on the Garden Grove High campus. La Quinta will again be on the road on Friday, visiting the Saddleback High Roadunners.