CRUZ GONZALES (27) carries the ball for Rancho Alamitos in its 21-12 win over Santiago Thursday night in the Garden Grove League opener for both schools (OC Tribune photo).

League play started this week for area high school football teams, and already the initial results point toward some key matchups down the road.

  On Friday, La Quinta (now 4-2 overall and 1-0 in Garden Grove League play) defeated Los Amigos (2-4, 0-1) to put the Aztecs into an early tie with Rancho Alamitos (4-2, 1-0) for the league lead, along with Bolsa Grande (4-2, 1-0), which won a shootout with Loara (0-6, 0-1) by 47-28 on Thursday.

   Leading rhe Matador attack  was David Nguyen, who rushed for six touchdowns, a new school record. He ended up with 113 yards on 21 carries and five TDs, and one score as a receiver, catching a pass from quarterback Ethan Nguyen.

   Also a star on defense, he had an interception.

   In the Empire League, Pacifica (1-5, 0-1) continued to have an uncharacteristically tough campaign in losing 45-7 to Cypress (3-3, 1-0).

  Sunset League action saw Edison (2-3, 1-0) defeat a good Corona del Mar (3-3, 0-1) team by 21-7 and Huntington Beach (3-3, 0-1) lose 59-21 to Newport Harbor (3-3, 1-0).

    For the Chargers, Julius Gillick rushed for 126 yards on 29 carries and scored three touchdowns in beating the Sea Kings.

  In the first round of Orange League play, Western (5-1, 1-0) won its homecoming game convincingly by 63-7 over Magnolia (0-6, 0-1).

  Non-league play on Friday saw Westminster (5-2) improve to one of the area’s best records by beating Katella (1-6) by 39-6.

  On Thursday, Rancho Alamitos defeated Santiago (3-3, 0-1) by 21-12 in GGL action and Marina (3-4) bested Los Altos 7-0 in a non-league game.