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SportsOct. 23, 2003Warriors come back but fall shortMiguel Vasconcellos/Irvine World NewsZac Sagay of Woodbridge is stopped short of the goal line by Aliso's Niguel's Justin Smith during Thursday night's Sea View League game at Irvine Stadium.justments after giving upWoodbridge falls to Aliso Niguel, 38-28, in Sea View League opener at Irvine StadiumBy Brent Shaver* Irvine World NewsrThe Woodbridge High football team showed Friday night what a wild Sea View League season it might be.No team or lead is safe. The Warriors battled back from a 17-point deficit to nearly upset Aliso Niguel before falling, 38-28, at Irvine Stadium in the league opener for both teams.“Woodbridge didn't surprise me, Aliso Niguel Coach Joe Wood said. “They score points. For years now we have played that football team and for years it has been exciting. We are always in a barn burner with those guys.A slow start, a couple of turnovers and some spotty special teams play cost the Warriors.We probably should have scored at least 40 points tonight, but we hurt ourselves, Woodbridge Coach Rick Gibson said.Woodbridge (1-5, 0-1) trailed, 14-0, at the end of the first quarter, but made things interesting the rest of the way.Quarterback Mike Anderson got the Warriors on the board early in the second quarter on a 1-yard sneak.Aliso Niguel (4-2, 1-0) scored the next 10 points on a field goal and a touchdown. Each score was set up by a long return. Justin Smith brought a kickoff back 50 yards and eight plays later Chris Mercer kicked a 33-yard field goal.Then Scott Brown returned a punt 35 yards. Brown, who also played quarterback, scored on a 1-yard sneak four plays later to give Aliso Niguel a 24-7 lead with 4:38 left in the first half.Woodbridge got a great kickoff return of its own soon after. Reshad Bahadori took a reverse on the kickoff andbrought it back 66 yards to the Aliso Niguel 24-yard line.Alter a penalty, Anderson found Ron Rom-melfanger open for a 28-yard touchdown pass to pull Woodbridge to within 24-14 with 4:03 left in the half.Woodbridge had a chance to get even closer at the end of the half, but Anderson was picked off by Smith in the end zone.Anderson threw interceptions on Wood-bridge's first two possessions of the second half, including one in Aliso Niguel territory. But it didn't shake the junior quarterback.And Woodbridge's defense, which made ad-the early scores, got Anderson the ball back. Our defense really stepped up, Gibson said.Aliso Niguel went three plays and out on its first two possessions of the second half.Anderson proceeded to throw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Zac Sagay to get Woodbridge to within 24-21 with 2:10 left in the third quarter.Woodbridge didn't stay close for long, however. Smith took the ensuing kickoff back 88 yards for a touchdown.Our special teams killed us tonight, Gibson said. We gave them three returns tonightthat did us in.Woodbridge cut the deficit to 31-28 on a 31 -yard scoring strike from Anderson to Sagay late in the third quarter. But Aliso Niguel put the game away with a long drive and score early in the fourth period. Sagay finished with six catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns.Rommelfanger had four catches for 68 yards.Anderson ended up completing 12 of 33 passes for 253 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.Woodbridge continues Sea View League play Friday night when it meets Irvine at Irvine Stadium. The game starts at 7 p.m.
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Fountain Valley View
Fountain Valley, California, US
Thu, Oct 23, 2003
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CA, USA 20 Jun 2021
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