LAKE FOREST — It didn’t look good for El Dorado. On the road, starting quarterback injured, sophomore backup in the game, already one loss down in league play.
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But in one of those storybook moments that coaches harp on — always be ready because you never know when it will be your moment — Deven Kaatz rose to the occasion.
Kaatz ran for one touchdown and passed for another to help No. 24 El Dorado score a resounding victory over El Toro, 40-14, in a Foxtrot League game Friday at El Toro High.
Kaatz wasn’t without help. Running back Darius Selway was the kind of safety net every offense needs. Selway provided some consistency from the tailback position and rushed 27 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
El Dorado improved to 5-2 overall, 1-1 in league. El Toro dropped to 4-3, 1-1
Led by the likes of Alonzo Anguiano, Micah Cavalluzzi, and Christian Boyce, the El Dorado defense did its part, limiting El Toro to 201 yards, including only 98 in the first half as El Dorado commanded a 27-7 advantage coming out for the third quarter.
Notably, El Toro gained 89 of its total yards on three plays. Otherwise, it was slim pickings.
El Dorado quarterback Hudson Shaddow was having a great game before he left with an undisclosed leg injury. He passed for 41 yards while leading his team to a score on the opening possession as Selway scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 78-yard drive.
On the next series, Shaddow was knocked out of the game. Shaddow finished four of five passing for 59 yards.
Although El Dorado eventually punted, a fumble recovered by Darian Njoku gave it possession at the 18. After a penalty, Jacob Karg scored from nine yards to go up, 14-0 with 3:22 left in the opening quarter.
El Dorado coach Zack LaMonda said Shaddow was dealing with a groin injury and would be evaluated at halftime. But the job by Kaatz made the issue moot.
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“We focused on our run game, that was our big challenge this week, and our offensive line stepped up,” LaMonda said of Matix Wood, Isai Cruz, Shane Chufo, Josh Sugar, and Levi Marshall.
“They see (Kaatz) because he’s the quarterback, but it’s been happening all season. A tackle goes down, next guy steps up. A defensive lineman goes down, next guy steps up. It’s a next-man-up mentality. That’s how we train. I try to make practices harder than the games, and I think it works well.”
Kaatz completed four of seven for 27 yards and an interception, but he had completions of 20 and 16 yards. He said he took about five snaps per practice this week.
“My hat’s off to him,” La Monda said. “He’s a smart kid, and when his number was called and it was his time to shine, he went out and executed. Some of his best plays were when he threw the ball away.”
El Dorado went up 20-0 with 9:18 left in the second quarter—Kaatz scored from five yards but the 2-point conversion failed.
Although El Toro got on the board with 6:17 left in the half on a 23-yard completion from Jaxson Algaze to Bryce Thacker, El Dorado answered back. The Golden Hawks scored with 46 seconds left, Kaatz passing 16 yards to Justin Karg.
A short pass that turned into a 47-yard score from Algaze to Matthew Arroyo late in the third quarter gave El Toro a glimmer of hope, 27-14, but four plays later—after Selway’s 54-yard kickoff return—Alex Hester ran in from 29 to extend El Dorado’s lead to 34-14. All hope ended for the Chargers with Golden Hawks interception by Reed Bailor
“It was not the best of scenarios, he’s obviously been our guy all season,’’ said Selway, who made it 40-14 with 4:20 remaining and talked about losing a starting quarterback about six minutes into the game. “I had trust in our backup and I knew we would rely more heavily on our running game, and we did that.”
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