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C4/lrvine World NewsSportsSept. 19, 2002Warriors suffer season-opening loss to BellflowerMiguel Vasconcellos/Irvine World NewsWoodbridge's Ben Oermann (left) and Dan Oermann bring down Bellflower running back Derrek Johnson Thursday.Special teams woes plaque Woodbridge in 36-9 setbackBy Tim BurtIrvine World NewsWoodbridge High football coach Rick Gibson didn't rant and rave after his squad’s 36-9 loss to Bellflower Thursday night at Irvine Stadium.It might have been easy for him to, but Gibson probably realized he was fielding a team that includes 17 sophomores.That may have accounted for some of Wood-br.dge's troubles in its season opener.Special teams problems plagued Woodbridge all ni jht. Two Bellflower touchdowns were set up following botched punts.We're young,” Gibson said. We said game one was going to be one where we were going to make a ton of mistakes and we have to go from there.If we look like this in game five, then we're in trouble. If we steadily improve, then we'll be on a roll.Woodbridge wasn't able to get much going offensively. Quarterback Tim Kegel struggled, completing 7 of 29 passes for 18 yards.We came into this year with a receiving corps that had no varsity catches, Gibson said. It's something that we're going to have to work at. If it were easy, it wouldn't be fun.I think they were a very athletic team, they basically jumped in our face against young receivers who haven't gone through those kinds of things.”Senior running back Dan Oermann led the way offensively for Woodbridge, rushing for 99 yards on 11 carries.Woodbridge got off to a great start when Chase Cothern intercepted the first pass of the game. However, the drive stalled.The Warriors then had troubles of their own.It began when the Woodbridge punter couldn't handle the snap, enabling Bellflower to take over on the Warrior 40-yard line.The Buccaneers then moved ahead, 6-0, when Antone Saulsberry broke free for a 60-yard touchdown with 7:07 left in the first quarter. Bellflower then moved ahead, 14-0, when Ryan Brooks connected with Lyndon Laing on a 53-yard halfback option pass.The Warriors got back in the game though on the next drive. Oermann scampered 59 yards to the Bellflower 9-yard line.Kegel then connected with Ron Rommelfanger on a 9-yard touchdown pass to close the gap to 14-6. The Warriors missed the kick.Woodbridge cut the lead to 14-9 when Randall Noji kicked a 26-yard field goal with 2:35 remainingin the second quarter.But Bellflower broke the game open in the third quarter.In the third quarter, the Woodbridge punter mis-See WARRIORS/C8
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Huntington Beach Wave
Huntington Beach, California, US
Thu, Sep 19, 2002
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