Two big plays lift Woodbridge past Uni in Pacific Coast League showdown

Woodbridge Warriors celebrate after a Pacific Coast League victory over University Wednesday. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Woodbridge High School’s girls flag football team used two big plays, one on defense and one on offense, to defeat University 13-0 in a key Pacific Coast League game Wednesday afternoon at Uni.

With the victory, the league-leading Warriors (11-5, 6-0) extended their lead to two games over second place University. University is 6-5 overall and 3-2 in league play.

“A win is a win, no matter how you get it, so we’re really happy about that,” said Woodbridge Coach Mark Thompson. “We definitely have some things to work on, it was an ugly win but they stuck with it and they persevered and battled until the end and came out with the win. We have a little breathing room, but we’re still going to fight and try and win every game of course.”

In the first of two 24-minute halves, the Warriors took the lead when Zoey Ceman intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Laney Brucker connected with Ceman on the conversion to put Woodbridge ahead 7-0 with 16:32 remaining.

“That was really good, they didn’t have anybody (defending) and she was open forever,” said Brucker.

Woodbridge extended its lead to 13-0 when Brucker connected with a wide-open Lana Ameen for a 60-yard TD. The Warriors missed the point after.

Brucker had a solid game passing and picked up some big gains on the ground as well. She completed 12 of 27 for 161 yards and a TD and rushed 11 times for 105 yards.

“She was running all over the field today,” Thompson said.

Brucker also had an impact on defense with an interception in the second half which helped Woodbridge take over at the University 5-yard line.

University’s Arden Marchiorlatti responded with an interception to end the threat, but the Trojans were unable to move the ball.

University tried to get back into the game in the final eight minutes. Quarterback Carson Cruz had several completions to move the ball to the Woodbridge nine but the drive stalled with about five minutes left.

The clock only stops in the final two minutes of games, so Woodbridge was able to get a first down and run the clock out.

“It was a tough loss, they’re first in the PCL for a reason,” said Uni Coach Jeff Marchiorlatti. “It’s a solid team. We put forth a good effort but we made some key mistakes. Two key mistakes and two touchdowns for them, we look forward to playing them again.”

The teams play again Monday, Oct. 14 at Woodbridge.

“Our goal is to win out, so that’s clearly on our schedule,” Marchiorlatti said.

Thompson, the Woodbridge coach, was also pleased with the play of linebacker Dyllan Harris.

“She had most of the flag pulls today, so she was dominating the defense,” he said. “The one time they threw to Zoey’s side, Zoey picked it off so they stopped going there.”

Both teams look like they are headed for the CIF playoffs in the first season of CIF-sanctioned playoffs. In the first season last year as a CIF sanctioned sport, there were not enough teams for playoffs but this year there are.

For full view, click on the photo:

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