By Candy Taman

The defending champion George Washington Geckos waited a week before getting some licks in the IIAAG Football League.

GSPN Player of the Game: GW quarterback Brendan Santos

The same was said for their Southern High Dolphins opponents Saturday night as both teams were coming off Week 1 forfeit wins.

“Good learning experience for the new players,” said long-time Geckos head coach Ryan Rios. “Some of them, it’s their very first game. Lots of mistakes, but it gives you a gauge of where you stand amongst the better teams.”

The Purple and Gold were led by senior All-Island quarterback Brendan Santos, who controlled the GW offense against a game Southern defense 12-0 at the GW Field.

GW struck early on the ground with the mixed ground attack of Noah Blas and Ryan Quitugua.

Quitugua hit paydirt from 3-yards out in the first quarter to put the Geckos on the board.

The build up to the 2nd score seemed somewhat identical to the first for GW. Mixed runs from the Gecko backfield put them back in to Southern’s redzone. Santos surgically dissected the Dolphin secondary to find Blas from the backfield to hit the end zone from 8-yards out.

That was all the scoring the Geckos needed as the score held up the rest of the way.

The remainder of the game showed the improvement of Southern High’s defense holding the Geckos to only 12 points. Southern first cousins Kam and Dyllan Tenorio along with Jeric Navarro balled out for Southern, displaying their athleticism with big hits and unchecked penetration against a seasoned line in GW.

“The coaches kept us motivated; they kept us in the game. I think the coaches are the reason why we came out on top,” said GW’s Santos, who also added a sack on defense in the second quarter.

“The expectations for our team was just a little higher,” Southern head coach Arsenio Babauta said. “Our adjustments in the second half was better, that’s why we held them scoreless. We now have numbers. It’s only a matter of time before we start reaping the benefits of our program.”

“I can see (Southern) picking it up in the upcoming games,” added GW’s head coach.

The Dolphins’ pistol offense was effective in the second half, but the lack of urgency allowed the clock to churn. It was a fast-paced game as the final whistle blew just shortly after 9 pm.

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