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ORANGE – El Modena’s offense had a miserable first half, finally scoring on a field goal on the final snap of the second quarter.
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The Vanguards scored a touchdown less than 90 seconds into the third quarter to launch the offense on the way to a 29-9 win over El Dorado in a nonleague football game Thursday at El Modena High.
El Modena (4-0) is No. 24 in the Orange County Top 25. El Dorado dropped to 2-2.
The score was 5-3, El Modena leading, at the end of the first half.
Vanguards senior quarterback Ethan Sorenson connected with senior receiver Jason Ramos on a 62-yard touchdown pass to crank up the offense on the second play of the third quarter.
Sorenson scored on a 1-yard, pile-pushing run and a few minutes later Sorenson and Ramos hooked up again, this time on a 37-yard touchdown pass.
Suddenly El Modena’s lead had grown to 26-3.
“The first half, we had kind of a rough start,” Sorenson said. “We went into the locker room at halftime, everyone had each other’s back and we knew what we had to do. That’s the kind of football team we are.”
Sorenson completed 11 of 18 passes for 171 yards and the two touchdowns to Ramos. He also rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Ramos finished with six receptions for 146 yards. He has six touchdown catches this season.
El Dorado junior quarterback Hudson Shaddow completed 22 of 37 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown. Senior receiver Justin Karg caught six passes for 128 yards and a touchdown.
El Modena went three-and-out on its first two possessions. In between those possessions El Dorado’s Ryan Lema kicked a 21-yard field goal to give the Golden Hawks a 3-0 lead.
The Vanguards got two points on a safety when a snap to the El Dorado punter deep in Golden Hawks territory sailed over the punter’s head and out of the end zone. That made it El Dorado 3, El Modena 2.
El Modena’s Alejandro Martinez kicked a 33-yard field goal on the final snap of the second quarter for a baseball-like 5-3 lead for the Vanguards at halftime.
Two plays into the second half Sorenson found Ramos open for a 62-yard touchdown pass and a 12-3 lead. Sorenson scored on his 1-yard run to make it 19-3. The second Sorenson-to-Ramos touchdown, this one covering 37 yards, extended the El Modena lead to 26-3.
El Dorado got its touchdown on a 70-yard pass play from Shaddow to Karg. The extra-point kick missed, leaving the score at 26-9.
Martinez’s second field goal, a successful boot of 34 yards with 4:07 left in the game, completed the scoring.
El Modena coach Matt Mitchell was waiting for his team to get the offense going.
“We just got that one big play,” Mitchell said of the 62-yard Sorenson-to-Ramos touchdown. “That changed momentum. We played well, well enough to win.”
El Modena’s next game is at home Sept. 25 against Trabuco Hills, the No. 23 team in the county rankings and the best of the Vanguards’ five nonleague opponents.
“I think we’re still kind of finding our way,” Mitchell said. “I think we’re on the right path. We’re working hard, we’re playing together and all that good stuff.”
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El Dorado plays Troy in a nonleague home game Sept. 25 at Valencia High.
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This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 11:34 PM.