Western cornerback Drew Faulkner, right, intercepts a pass intended for Garden Grove wide receiver Landon Mendoza in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
ANAHEIM – It might be a while before Western loses another football game.
The Pioneers rolled to a 34-7 win over previously-unbeaten Garden Grove on Thursday at Western High.
It was the final nonleague game for Western (4-1). The Pioneers are No. 25 in this week’s Orange County top 25. Their only loss was to Cypress, the county’s No. 10 team.
Western’s Josh Shepperson hits Garden Grove quarterback Isaac Garcia, right, to force a fumble in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. Garden Grove was able to recover the ball. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western fullback Joshua Faulkner, center runs through the Garden Grove defense to set up another Western touchdown in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western cornerback Drew Faulkner, right, intercepts a pass intended for Garden Grove wide receiver Landon Mendoza in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Garden Grove quarterback Branden Roth, center, finds a hole on a quarterback keeper against Western in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western quarterback Anthony Luna fires a pass against Garden Grove in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Garden Grove running back Malachi Bey (28) is able to get by Western defenders for a gain in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Garden Grove quarterback Branden Roth, left, gets by Western free safety Oscar Howard (7) to score a touchdown in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western quarterback Anthony Luna, right, is caught and sacked by Garden Grove tackle Paul Ruiz, left, in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Garden Grove running back Malachi Bey, right, is stopped but Western tight end Josh Shepperson, left, in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Garden Grove quarterback Branden Roth, left, is sacked by a Western defender in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western cornerback Drew Faulkner, gets congratulations after making an interception against Garden Grove a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western fullback Joshua Faulkner, left, is congratulated by Drew Faulkner, right, after scoring a touchdown against Garden Grove in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western fullback Joshua Faulkner, center, breaks a tackle by Garden Grove’s Malachi Bey to score a touch down in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Garden Grove quarterback Branden Roth, throws a pass against Western in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western players check to see if the coin toss has happened before the start of their game against Garden Grove in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A Western fan floats blue smoke after her team scored a touchdown against Garden Grove in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the Western band wait for their cue during halftime of the game against Garden Grove in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western players run onto the field for their game against Garden Grove in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western fans take a selfie before the start of the game against Garden Grove in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western cornerback Drew Faulkner jumps over Garden Grove’s Mykel Isguerra on his way to a big gain in a non-league football game in Anaheim on Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Western begins Orange League play next Friday, Sept. 30 at Century. Four of Western’s five league opponents were winless coming into this week.
The Pioneers have not lost an Orange League game since returning to the league before the 2020 season that was delayed to spring 2021 because of COVID-19. They went 5-0 in league in spring ’21 with an average margin of victory of 49 points over the five league games. Western was 5-0 in league again in the 2021 fall season with an average margin of victory of 50 points.
Garden Grove (4-1) play at home against Godinez next Thursday, Sept. 29. The Argonauts start Big 4 League play at Segerstrom on Oct. 14.
Western junior running back Josh Faulkner on Thursday scored three touchdowns, two receiving and one rushing. He carried the ball 15 times for 77 yards and had five receptions for 44 yards.
His brother senior receiver Drew Faulkner had 12 receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown and had an interception on defense. Junior linebacker Joshua Shepperson had two sacks.
Pioneers junior quarterback Anthony Luna threw for 221 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 22 of 29 passes.
Garden Grove junior quarterback Branden Roth rushed for 41 yards and the Argonauts touchdown on 13 carries. He completed 8 of 14 passes for 53 yards.
Argonauts senior running back Malachi Bey was averaging 169 rushing yards a game going into Thursday’s contest. Western limited Bey to 24 yards on 15 carries.
“I thought we had to be aggressive and come after them,” said Western coach Dan Davidson. “They run the ball very well, both with the quarterback and the running back. What we wanted to do was get guys in the box so we couldn’t let Malachi get going.”
Shepperson said, “Our main focus was to focus on 28 (Bey’s uniform number) all day.”
Among the many Western defensive standouts Thursday were linebackers Malachi Alatorre, Diego Meza and Ozzie Partida and defensive linemen Josh Atonio and Carlos Pena Sanchez.
After a scoreless first quarter Western took a 7-0 lead early in the second on a 3-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass from Luna to Josh Faulkner. Luna rolled right and threw a low pass that Faulkner dived for pulled it in just before the ball would have hit the ground.
The Pioneers scored on their following possession. On third down at the Garden Grove 1-yard line Luna quickly fired to his right to Drew Faulkner in the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
Garden Grove scored a touchdown with 40 seconds left in the half. Roth powered his way through the middle for a 7-yard scoring run. Roth rushed for 48 yards on eight carries in the first half.
Josh Faulkner scored on a 1-yard run midway through the third quarter to extend Western’s lead to 21-7. He made a great spinning catch of a Luna pass in the left corner of the end zone later in the quarter to make it 27-7 (the point-after kick attempt missed). The Pioneers got their final touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard run by Noa Valles Blackwell.
