Northwood captures must win in Foxtrot League game against Fountain Valley

Northwood assistant coach Phil Roh congratulates the Timberwolves after Thursday’s win. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Northwood’s football team got a win it needed badly Thursday night for morale sake after a loss last week and in order to keep the Timberwolves CIF playoff hopes alive with one week left in the regular season.

The Timberwolves got past a determined Fountain Valley squad 20-7 Thursday night at Huntington Beach in a Foxtrot League contest to notch their first league win. Northwood (4-5, 1-3) finishes league play next Thursday against co-leader Dana Hills (8-0, 3-0) at Irvine Stadium. Dana Hills meets Laguna Beach (8-0, 3-0) for the league title Friday night.

Coach Erik Terry believes his Timberwolves needed the win Thursday and an upset victory over Dana Hills to have a chance at a wild card spot.

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Sophomore quarterback Dylan D’Epifanio led the way throwing two touchdown passes. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 257 yards for Northwood which led 14-7 at halftime.

“Our whole thing this week was, we need to get this one because then we have a chance next week to get a win and go 5-5 and potentially get a wild card,” Terry said. “We want to be playing for something. Laguna Beach is a great football team, that was a tough one, we came back against Aliso (Niguel) and we were kind of dinged up and not mentally ready to play and then last week (a 34-28 loss to Orange) we thought we played one of our best games and had a chance to win, so this one was big after those three losses.

“It’s a big, tall task against a good Dana Hills team but at least we have a chance to extend our season if we win, not for sure we would get in, but at least we would be playoff eligible.”

Fountain Valley (1-8, 0-4) put up a fight, led by sophomore quarterback Isaac Combs, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 176 yards with two interceptions. He connected with Drake Robinson on a 9-yard TD pass in the second quarter to help the Barons tie the game 7-7.

Northwood took the early lead when D’Epifanio connected with Isaac Kwon on a 17-yard TD pass earlier in the quarter.

After Fountain Valley tied the game, Northwood’s Isaiah Arriola scored on a 1-yard TD plunge with 13 seconds left in the first half on a third down play giving the Timberwolves some momentum going into the second half.

Northwood added to its lead in the third quarter to 20-7 when D’Epifanio connected with Jack Schultz on a 68-yard pass and run play down the sidelines. The Timberwolves missed the extra point. Schultz was the inspiratonal leader, hauling in six catches for 142 yards while firing up his teammates on both sides of the ball. The Timberwolves were able to keep the Barons off the scoreboard the rest of the game.

Fountain Valley did manage to get the ball to the Northwood 24-yard line in the final seconds of the game but the Timberwolves Elliot Kwon intercepted a pass to seal the win. Arriola also had an interception to end a drive in the first quarter.

The Timberwolves were jubilant after the game as their coaches congratulated them on the win.

“This game, he (D’Epifanio) really trusted me with the ball,” Schultz said. “Even the deep one on the sideline, he really had the connection there. I got to thank my receivers for that one, I couldn’t do it without them, they really led me down the field like I was running a chariot or something.

“This win kind of gives us some hope, we’ve kind of been suffering in the league against some power teams like Laguna (Beach) but this really lifts the spirit and gives us some hope for next week against Dana Hills.”

D’Epifanio was also excited about the win.

“All the guys came out here, we were playing for something bigger, we’ve been riddled with injuries our whole year, we have multiple guys playing through injuries right now and we’re playing for each other, it’s like a family,” he said. “It’s bigger than winning or losing, we’re playing for each other, playing for our brothers.

“Second to last game, we’re playing for a chance (for the playoffs) and we’re going to go out next week and we’re going to compete.”

Terry was pleased with how the Timberwolves finished the game.

“I think we had some pass protection issues in the first half when he (D’Epifanio) was getting a little rattled and feeling like he had to run the ball, but then he settled down and started trusting the guys up front and they did a little better, we rotated seven guys through the offensive line, trying to find the right combination and it worked in the second half,” he said.

“And Jack Schultz and Isaac Kwon are two pretty explosive players when you get the ball in their hands.”

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com