In short: Santiago Cavaliers high school football (Garden Grove, CA), 2026 season: 3-7 in the Tango League. Last game: L 13-28 vs Loara on October 29, 2026. Schedule and results, player season stats, stat leaders, unit grades, ScorePirate ranking and the game-by-game log.
The biggest worry in Santiago's season has been the direction of its offense. Santiago averaged 24.4 points per game over its first 5 games (2-3), #210 in CIF-SS in that timeframe. In the 5 games since that hot start (1-4), the Cavaliers have averaged 13.6 points per game, a 44% drop, #337 in CIF-SS in that window. The schedule has a lot to do with it: Santiago's last 5 opponents have averaged 21.0 points per game, a #153 scoring defense in CIF-SS on the season, against 28.2 points per game, #282 for the first 5. Measured against those opponents' norms (21.0 points per game), Santiago scored 35% less than those defenses usually allow. Santiago was held to 14 points or fewer 4 times in those games, including 6 against Bolsa Grande on 10/8. On the season, Santiago ranks #295 in CIF-SS in scoring.
The Cavaliers allowed 33.8 points per game over their first 4 games (1-3), #331 in CIF-SS during that time. Few teams started slower in this department, and few have turned it around as sharply since. In the 6 games since that slow start (2-4), Santiago has allowed 21.3 points per game, a 37% drop, #158 in CIF-SS through those games. The schedule doesn't explain it: the opponents in both stretches have averaged about 22.6 points per game on the season. Overall, though, those opponents have been lower-level teams: their average SP Strength Index rating would rank just #365 in CIF-SS. Only Bolsa Grande broke through in that span, putting up 37 on 10/8. On the season, the Cavaliers rank #254 in CIF-SS in scoring defense.
Santiago's ground game from the opening weeks has gone missing since. Santiago averaged 6.4 yards per carry (979 yards on 152 rushes) over its first 5 games (2-3), #120 in CIF-SS through that stretch. In the 5 games since that hot start (1-4), the Cavaliers have averaged 5.5 yards per carry (836 yards on 151 rushes), a 14% drop, #189 in CIF-SS over that stretch. The schedule has a lot to do with it: Santiago's last 5 opponents have averaged 5.6 yards per carry, a #193 run defense in CIF-SS on the season, against 6.8 yards per carry, #294 for the first 5. On the season, Santiago ranks #152 in CIF-SS in rushing.
Something changed for Santiago's run defense after its first 3 games. The Cavaliers allowed 6.0 yards per carry (565 yards on 94 rushes) over their first 3 games (1-2), #260 in CIF-SS within that period. In the 7 games since that hot start (2-5), Santiago has allowed 6.8 yards per carry (869 yards on 127 rushes), a 14% rise, #285 in CIF-SS across those games. The schedule doesn't explain it: the opponents in both stretches have averaged about 5.1 yards per carry on the season. Measured against those opponents' norms (5.3 yards per carry), Santiago allowed 30% more per carry than those rushing attacks usually gain. On the season, the Cavaliers rank #275 in CIF-SS in run defense.
TIDBITS (4 found)
• Club Santiago has gone 50 straight games forcing fewer than 3 turnovers (August 26, 2022 through October 29, 2026), going 20-30 over that stretch, a school-record 50 straight in the 22 seasons on record.
• Club Santiago is 15-0 all time when holding the opponent under 10 points in the games on file (15 such games).
• Club Santiago has gone 11 straight games being held under 200 passing yards (October 31, 2025 through October 29, 2026), going 3-8 over that stretch, the program's longest such streak since 2024 (24 games).
• Player Michael Hoang has 6 rushing touchdowns over his last 4 games (1.5 a game, September 24, 2026 through October 29, 2026) -- his most in a 4-game stretch since the 6 he had from October 2, 2025 through October 24, 2025.
MILESTONE WATCH
Santiago
Brandon Orozco needs 49 rushing yards for 500 (averaging 56.4 a game)
Every player with a stat on file, listed only where he has one. Open the arrow beside a name for his game-by-game line. Stats through the Oct 29 game; last updated Nov 2; roster and numbers checked Sep 10.
Click a column heading to sort. MIN hides players below that many attempts.
Santiago fell to Loara 13-28 on the road on Thursday, October 29. Santiago ran for 197 yards against 79 passing, and the defense turned a 364-yard night for Loara into 28 points.
Jacob Arteaga completed 9 of 18 for 8 yards and a touchdown and ran 5 times for 16 yards and a touchdown. John Lucero ran 2 times for 39 yards. Michael Hoang ran 2 times for 2 yards and caught 1 pass for 10 yards.
For Loara, Chavonte Carter ran 18 times for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns; Daniel Quiroz caught 4 passes for 22 yards and added 5 tackles and 1 for loss on defense.
Season complete at 3-7 with no games on file beyond a normal 10-game regular season -- read as no postseason appearance. This library still has no playoff-round/bracket source, so this label comes from game count alone, not a confirmed bracket result.
SAN — 2026 OVERALL AVERAGES
SPLIT
GP
PPG
OPP PPG
YPG
OPP YPG
PLAYS/G
OPP PLAYS/G
OVERALL
10
19.0
26.3
215.4
320.9
37.9
46.3
HOME
5
19.8
17.0
199.8
235.3
36.8
45.3
ROAD
5
18.2
35.6
231.0
385.0
39.0
47.0
PPG/OPP PPG use every played game on file. YPG/PLAYS-PER-GAME columns only ever come from games with a full box score on file, which can be a smaller sample than GP -- see the coverage note below when that's the case for this team.
Averages use only games with that number on file (defense 7/10, sacks allowed 8/10 games). SACKS ALW comes from the opponent's box score; TO FORCED is takeaways; TO MAR is takeaways minus giveaways, and its bottom cell is the season total. Dashes mean not on file.
UNIT INDEX
Pass Offense: grade 6.9/100 (-114 yds/gm vs average)
Rush Offense: grade 36.5/100 (-40 yds/gm vs average)
Pass Defense: grade 22.7/100 (+37 yds/gm vs average)
Rush Defense: grade 19.4/100 (+67 yds/gm vs average)
Unit grades: 0-100 league percentile, adjusted for the opponents faced.
LAST YEAR
SAN finished 2025 at 3-7. Missed playoffs. Notable win: 20-17 over ANAHEIM (ANAHEIM finished 54% that season). Toughest loss: 27-28 to LOARA (1-point margin).
"N/A" stands in for a box score that does not have stats entered. A total followed by a count in parentheses covers only the games with that stat on file.
TALKING POINTS (15 storylines)
SAN HAS PERFORMED BEST THIS DATA SET WHEN...
• SAN averages 7.0+ yards per play (.750), and has won 2 straight when doing so
• SAN rushes for 150+ yards (.600), but most recently lost to Loara when doing so
SAN — OFFENSE SCORING SITUATION — 2024-26 (30 Gms)
SPLIT
REC
WIN%
PPG
Scores <10
0-12
.000
5.4
Scores 10-19
0-4
.000
13.8
Scores 20-29
7-3
.700
24.9
Scores 30-39
2-1
.667
35.3
Scores 40+
1-0
1.000
49.0
SAN — OFFENSE — 2026 (10 Gms)
SPLIT
REC
WIN%
PPG
STRK
YPA 8.0+
1-1
.500
17.0
W1
YPA < 8.0
2-6
.250
19.5
L3
Pass Yds 200+
--
--
--
--
Pass Yds < 200
3-7
.300
19.0
L1
Rush Yds 100+
3-6
.333
20.4
L1
Rush Yds < 100
0-1
.000
6.0
L1
Rush Yds 150+
3-3
.500
27.5
L1
Rush Yds < 150
0-4
.000
6.2
L4
YPC 5.0+
3-4
.429
23.4
L1
YPC < 5.0
0-3
.000
8.7
L3
YPP 6.0+
2-1
.667
38.3
W2
YPP < 6.0
1-6
.143
10.7
L6
YPP 7.0+
2-0
1.000
38.5
W2
YPP < 7.0
1-7
.125
14.1
L7
Turnovers 1+
1-4
.200
16.0
L2
Turnovers < 1
2-3
.400
22.0
W1
Turnovers 2+
1-2
.333
20.3
L1
Turnovers > 2
--
--
--
--
SAN — OFFENSE SCORING SITUATION — 2026 (10 Gms)
SPLIT
REC
WIN%
PPG
Scores <10
0-4
.000
6.2
Scores 10-19
0-2
.000
13.5
Scores 20-29
2-0
1.000
25.5
Scores 30-39
0-1
.000
38.0
Scores 40+
1-0
1.000
49.0
SAN — DEFENSE — 2024-26 (30 Gms)
SPLIT
REC
WIN%
PPG
STRK
YPA 8.0+
2-8
.200
39.1
L6
YPA < 8.0
5-10
.333
23.8
L4
5 games without this stat on file
Pass Yds 200+
3-3
.500
32.8
L1
Pass Yds < 200
4-15
.211
29.0
L5
5 games without this stat on file
Rush Yds 100+
4-16
.200
32.9
L6
Rush Yds < 100
3-2
.600
18.0
L1
5 games without this stat on file
Rush Yds 150+
3-12
.200
32.9
L6
Rush Yds < 150
4-6
.400
25.5
L2
5 games without this stat on file
YPC 5.0+
2-13
.133
34.3
L11
YPC < 5.0
5-5
.500
23.3
W1
5 games without this stat on file
YPP 6.0+
3-12
.200
36.2
L8
YPP < 6.0
4-6
.400
20.5
L1
5 games without this stat on file
YPP 7.0+
1-9
.100
39.5
L8
YPP < 7.0
6-9
.400
23.5
L2
5 games without this stat on file
Turnovers 1+
6-8
.429
25.2
L1
Turnovers < 1
4-12
.250
31.1
L3
Turnovers 2+
0-4
.000
28.2
L4
Turnovers > 2
--
--
--
--
SAN — DEFENSE SCORING SITUATION — 2024-26 (30 Gms)
SPLIT
REC
WIN%
PPG
Allows <10
1-0
1.000
8.0
Allows 10-19
4-3
.571
13.4
Allows 20-29
4-5
.444
25.0
Allows 30-39
1-5
.167
35.7
Allows 40+
0-7
.000
44.1
SAN — DEFENSE — 2026 (10 Gms)
SPLIT
REC
WIN%
PPG
STRK
YPA 8.0+
0-2
.000
46.0
L2
YPA < 8.0
1-4
.200
24.4
L4
3 games without this stat on file
Pass Yds 200+
0-1
.000
44.0
L1
Pass Yds < 200
1-5
.167
28.3
L5
3 games without this stat on file
Rush Yds 100+
1-6
.143
30.6
L6
Rush Yds < 100
--
--
--
--
3 games without this stat on file
Rush Yds 150+
1-6
.143
30.6
L6
Rush Yds < 150
--
--
--
--
3 games without this stat on file
YPC 5.0+
0-6
.000
33.7
L6
YPC < 5.0
1-0
1.000
12.0
W1
3 games without this stat on file
YPP 6.0+
0-5
.000
37.6
L5
YPP < 6.0
1-1
.500
13.0
L1
3 games without this stat on file
YPP 7.0+
0-4
.000
39.2
L4
YPP < 7.0
1-2
.333
19.0
L2
3 games without this stat on file
Turnovers 1+
2-4
.333
24.2
L1
Turnovers < 1
1-3
.250
29.5
L3
Turnovers 2+
0-1
.000
15.0
L1
Turnovers > 2
--
--
--
--
SAN — DEFENSE SCORING SITUATION — 2026 (10 Gms)
SPLIT
REC
WIN%
PPG
Allows <10
--
--
--
Allows 10-19
2-2
.500
13.5
Allows 20-29
1-1
.500
24.5
Allows 30-39
0-2
.000
34.0
Allows 40+
0-2
.000
46.0
ON THE BRINK
SANTIAGO
• SANTIAGO has been held under 100 passing in 3 straight games (10/16/26–10/29/26). It has not been held under 100 passing in 4 straight since 8/20/26–10/1/26 (2026). It has reached 4 straight 4 times in the last 4 years and has reached a high of 7 straight (2025) in that span.
SAN's defense has averaged 47.0 pass yards per game over their last 3 games. Their 25-game average is 146.1 pass yards per game. (-68%)
SAN's defense has averaged 1.0 takeaways per game over their last 5 games. Their 30-game average is 0.6 takeaways per game. (+67%)
SAN's defense has averaged 4.0 YPA over their last 3 games. Their 25-game average is 7.3 YPA. (-46%)
SAN's defense has averaged 237.0 rush yards per game over their last 3 games. Their 25-game average is 179.0 rush yards per game. (+32%)
SAN's defense has averaged 21.0 points allowed per game over their last 3 games. Their 30-game average is 28.3 points allowed per game. (-26%)
(moved to the Appendix, Data Export 1, to keep this section shorter -- the full spreadsheet-paste table is there unchanged)
APPENDIX
Full-length explanations and full-size data exports for the shortened notes and relocated tables referenced throughout this report, numbered in the order their pointers appear above.
Explanatory Notes
Note 1 -- MOST IMPORTANT NUMBERS -- how a number is scored
Every split this report computes is scored on how strong the number is and how much it sets this team apart from its opponent and the rest of the field, and the top 5 per team are listed. A condition needs at least 8 occurrences to count.
Full Data Exports
Data Export 1 -- TRENDS — TAB-SEPARATED (10 columns)
Where SANTIAGO (GARDEN GROVE) sits among 399 section teams on the two Unit Index composites -- Offense Grade 26.8, Defense Grade 28.8.
PASS YARDS / GAME: SANTIAGO (GARDEN GROVE) VS THE SECTION
SANTIAGO (GARDEN GROVE) ranks #347 of 356 section teams in passing yards per game (11.0) -- a weakness worth a look.
SANTIAGO (GARDEN GROVE): SP STRENGTH INDEX BY SEASON
The program's index across 5 seasons on file -- -2.1 in 2022 to -23.7 in 2026.
These graphs were chosen by the program from this season's most notable numbers. Build your own -- any stat against any other, for any mix of teams, seasons or players, with a JPEG download -- in the Graph Builder.
