WOODBRIDGE 24 - EAGLES 27 - CIF
FULLERTON, CA., December 11, 1998 – Santa Margarita, playing for their third consecutive CIF Championship, suffered their second loss to eventual State Division II Champion Woodbridge as Steve Terwiske kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give the Warriors (13-0-1) a 27-24 before 8,000 at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Field. The heartbreaking loss overshadowed a dramatic comeback that saw Santa Margarita (10-4) rebound from a 24-9 deficit with 11:17 left to tie the score at 24 with 1:37 remaining. The first play from scrimmage was almost as exciting for the Warriors as linebacker David Grijalva intercepted Greg Orlando’s lateral and raced untouched 25 yards putting Woodbridge ahead 7-0. The Eagles countered on their next possession driving 64 yards on 17 plays capped by Matt Froehlich’s 33-yard field goal at the 3:18 mark. Key plays were 21 and 15 yard passes from Orlando to Matt Lopez and Mike O’Gorman respectively. On Woodbridge’s next possession, the Warriors took advantage of a 40-yard run by Shane Harris and a pass interference penalty to set up at the Eagle 24. On second and ten the Warriors used 12 men on the field to exploit the Eagle secondary as Scott Barlow hit a wide open Ryan Rommelfanger with a touchdown pass. The Eagles, who were generally inefficient in the first Woodbridge matchup, quickly responded as Orlando hit O’Gorman for the first of their three scores on the night at the 0:04 mark. This one was a 77-yarder that cut the Warrior lead to 14-9. Spencer McCroskey’s try for a two-point conversion, however, failed. After a missed Warrior field goal, the Eagles drove as deep as the Woodbridge 32 where a fourth down pass fell incomplete. An exchange of punts preceded a 60-yard touchdown run by Harris to increase the Warrior lead to 21-9 late in the second quarter. After a scoreless third quarter the Warriors went ahead 24-9 on Terwiske’s 25-yard field goal with 11:17 left to give the Warriors what seemed like an insurmountable lead. It took Orlando one play to find O’Gorman again, this time from 80 yards to close the gap to 24-16. On the play, O’Gorman made a spectacular one handed grab on the run and used his speed to outrace the defenders to the endzone. The Warriors were forced to punt on their next possession, but they left the Eagles 96 yards from the endzone. Santa Margarita proceeded to go on a 17-play drive over the next six minutes picking up six critical first downs including a 21-yard reception by Lopez on a third-and-12 situation. Orlando, who finished 11 of 22 for 271 yards, found O’Gorman (six receptions for 209 yards) on a post-corner at the 1:37 mark to close within two. On the two-point conversion, Orlando hit O’Gorman again, this time on a fade route to tie the score at 24. On the ensuing kickoff, Harris raced 38 yards to his 46 where the Warriors used four plays to move 33 yards to set up the winning kick. Thew Eagle offense moved the ball well all night gaining 409 total yards and picking up 16 first downs. The Eagles lost the turnover battle to the Warriors for the second time. Defensively, the Eagles played well at times; however they allowed six plays of at least 24 yards including a 24-yard completion on a key third-and-14 situation, and a 40-yard gain on a second-and-25 situation. Individual standouts included junior Matt Szkalak who led the team with 10 tackles and senior Lee Smith who added nine. q
| Woodbridge | 14 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 37 |
| Santa Margarita | 9 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 24 |
WOOD – Grijalva 25 fumble return (Terwiske kick)
SM – FG Froehlich 33
WOOD – Ry. Rommelfanger 24 pass from Barlow (Terwiske kick)
SM – O'Gorman 76 pass from Orlando (run failed)
WOOD – Harris 60 run (Terwiske kick)
WOOD – FG Terwiske 25
SM – O'Gorman 80 pass from Orlando (Froehlich kick)
SM – O'Gorman 15 pass from Orlando (O'Gorman pass from Orlando)
WOOD – FG Terwiske 38
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | WOOD | SM | |
| First downs |
12 | 14 | |
| Rushing | 25-207 | 42-133 | |
| Passing | 160 | 269 | |
| Comp-Att-Int | 11-19-0 | 11-21-0 | |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 3-1 | |
| Penalties | 10-109 | 9-63 | |
| Return yards | 168 | 75 | |
| Time of possession | 17:40 | 26:20 | |
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: Wood - Harris 13-152, Barlow 7-37, Runk 4-12, Berkowitz 1-6; SM - McCroskey 14-64, O'Gorman 5-24, T. Thompson 3-18, Smith 3-16, Orlando 17-11
Passing: Wood - Barlow 11-19-0-160; SM - Orlando 11-21-0-269
Receiving: Wood - Ry. Rommelfanger 4-40, Foster 2-47, Hammond 2-43, Masserman 1-16, Harris 1-(-2), Runk 1-(-4)
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Woodbridge adds kicker
The Warriors cap a huge turnaround with Terwiske's FG to outlast Santa Margarita, 27-24, for the Division VI title.
FULLERTON – Steve Terwiske told anybody who would listen. But nobody believed him.
"I told everyone on the team this game would come down to me," he said. "I just knew all week that it would."
Start believing.
Terwiske kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give Woodbridge a 27-24 victory over Santa Margarita in the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship game Friday night before an estimated 7,000 at Cal State Fullerton.
His game-winning kick completed one of the most remarkable two-year turnarounds in Orange County football history.
Just last season, Woodbridge escaped the ignonimy of a 26-game winless streak. The Warriors won their second game of the 1997 season to snap the streak, then went on to post an 8-2-2 record and reached the quarterfinals of the Division V playoffs.
This season the Warriors went 9-0-1 in the regular season, then swept through the playoffs to get to Friday's championship game, their first finals appearance since they won the CIF Southern Section Desert-Mountain Conference title in 1987.
"We knew we could do this this," said Woodbridge senior receiver Ryan Rommelfanger, who caught four passes, including a 24-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. "But it's still kind of surprising."
The final play wasn't a surprise to Terwiske.
"We practice this every day," said Terwiske. "Me and Tom Whittingham, our special teams coach. We go, `This is the kick for the CIF championship. You can do it! ' " Terwiske was able to do it because Shane Harris, Oren Masserman and Scott Barlow made the big plays in the Warriors' final drive of the game.
Santa Margarita, denied its try for a third consecutive CIF-SS championship, had tied the game with 1:37 remaining, after trailing by 15 going into the fourth quarter.
An 80-yard touchdown pass from Greg Orlando to Michael O'Gorman (208 yards receiving on six catches) pulled the Eagles to within eight points, 24-16, and an Orlando-to-O'Gorman scoring pass of 15 yards with 1:37 left made it 24-22. Santa Margarita made the two-point conversion on another Orlando-to-O'Gorman pass to tie the game.
Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan decided to send the ball deep on the ensuing kickoff.
"We knew their kicker had pretty good field-goal range," Hartigan said, "so we kicked it deep."
Harris caught it at the 8-yard line, and weaved his way through the middle until he was stopped at the Warriors' 46. A 17-yard pass from Barlow to Masserman put Woodbridge on the Eagles' 37. Harris, who finished with 152 yards rushing on 13 attempts, carried for 7 yards, and Barlow followed with runs of 6 and 3 yards to get the Warriors to Santa Margarita's 21. Woodbridge called time out with four seconds remaining and sent in Terwiske to try for his 15th field goal of the season.
"I knew when we sent him out there we were going to win," Woodbridge coach Rick Gibson said. "He's automatic."
Terwiske's kick was just about perfect, easily clearing the cross bar.
For Gibson, it was the most satisfying way to finish his football program's rapid ascension from the lowest depths to the highest high.
"It was the kids who did it," he said. "They're the ones who made this happen."
For Hartigan, it was a tough way to lose.
"We had to stop them on that last drive and couldn't do it," he said. "But really we made too many mistakes early in this game to win it."
Santa Margarita's problems began early.
On their first play after taking the opening kickoff, Orlando threw to his left toward Matt Lopez, who could only get a hand on the high pass (actually a lateral, since the direction of the pass was slightly behind Orlando). Woodbridge linebacker Dave Grijalva caught the tipped ball at the Eagles' 25, and ran unchallenged into the end zone. That gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead just 14 seconds into the game.
The Eagles regrouped and put together a 20-play drive that covered 80 yards, last eight minutes and 36 seconds and included six first downs, and ended with a 33-yard field goal by Matt Froehlich that cut Woodbridge's advantage to 7-3.
Woodbridge pushed its lead to 14-3 on its ensuing possession. A 40-yard run by Harris and a Santa Margarita personal foul penalty helped move the Warriors downfield, and Barlow finished the drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Ryan Rommelfanger in the end zone.
Orlando turned potential disaster into a touchdown on the final play of the first quarter. He rolled out to his left with five Warriors in pursuit, planted and heaved the ball downfield to O'Gorman. The senior receiver out-battled Woodbridge defensive back Harris for the ball, then broke away from Harris and sprinted to the end zone to for a touchdown that cut the Warriors' lead to 14-9.
The string of spectacular plays continued in the first half.
Harris produced a 60-yard touchdown run on which he put away one Eagles defender with a slick fake at the 50, broke a tackle at Santa Margarita's 45, and then angled to his right for the end zone. That gave Woodbridge a 21-9 lead. The score remained that way until the fourth quarter.
Woodbridge expanded its lead to 24-9 on a 25-yard field goal by Terwiske just 32 seconds in the final period.
Santa Margarita began its comeback just seconds later on O'Gorman's 80-yard touchdown reception, a one-handed catch that sliced the Warriors' lead to 24-16.
That began a rally that seemed so promising for the Eagles later. But the only promise kept was the one Terwiske had made so boldly to his teammates all week.
It's a promise he kept. Believe it.
By Steve Fryer
Saturday, December 12, 1998
The Orange County Register - D1
Harris enjoys a big night
Woodbridge drives for the game-winning field goal after his kick return gives the Warriors good field position.
FULLERTON – Woodbridge could have gotten flustered when Santa Margarita drove down the field and scored the game-tying touchdown in the closing minutes of Friday night's CIF Southern Section Division VI title game at Cal State Fullerton.
But when the Warriors were in desperate need of a big play, senior Shane Harris was there to provide it.
Santa Margarita seemed to have all the momentum after Greg Orlando connected with Mike O'Gorman for a 15-yard touchdown to cut Woodbridge's lead to 24-22. Then Orlando hit O'Gorman on the two-point conversion to tie it, 24-24.
"I knew we had to get a good run back because their defense had been good all night," Harris said. "We needed a good run back to start off with good field position for our offense."
The Eagles decided against an onside kick and Matt Froehlich kicked away. Harris took the ball at the 8, burst through a hole up the middle and went 38 yards to the 46.
"That's the guy I want back there," Woodbridge coach Rick Gibson said. "No more needs to be said. He's the guy I want with the ball."
That gave Woodbridge 1:30 to get into field-goal range for Steve Terwiske. Quarterback Scott Barlow connected with Oren Masserman for a 16-yard gain and then Harris had an 8-yard run. Three plays later, Terwiske drilled a 38-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Warriors a 27-24 victory.
"I was pretty confident," Barlow said. "I knew there was a lot of time on the clock and we had what it took to bring it down the field. Thank goodness Shane had an awesome run."
It seemed like Harris was on the field the whole game. He played tailback, free safety and on special teams he handled the punt and kick returns.
Harris had only 1 yard rushing after his first two carries on offense, but then he broke a 40-yard run to set up Woodbridge's second touchdown. A 15-yard penalty at the end of the big run moved the Warriors to Santa Margarita's 21 and three plays later Barlow connected with Ryan Rommelfanger for a 24-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 1:04 left in the opening quarter.
His biggest run of the game came late in the second quarter.
Santa Margarita had closed the gap to 14-9 and Woodbridge's offense was sputtering. Then Harris broke a 60-yard touchdown run to increase Woodbridge's lead to 21-9.
Harris slipped past one tackler at the 50, cut right at the 45 and outran everybody else to the end zone.
"I got the ball, cut back and the line had a great hole," Harris said.
Harris finished with 152 yards on 13 carries. He also handled the punting duties for the Warriors and came up with two crucial punts in the second half.
In the third quarter at the Santa Margarita 40, the Warriors center snapped it over Harris' head.Harris picked up the ball at Woodbridge's 40 and managed to get off a punt that went to Santa Margarita's 22.
He had another punt late in the game that pinned the Eagles at their own 4 with 8:21 remaining. Santa Margarita used up a lot of time because of the field position in driving in for the tying score.
Harris, Barlow, Terwiske and linebacker Eric Jensen played on Woodbridge's 0-10 team in 1996 as sophomores, making the championship even more meaningful. It was the school's first championship since beating Chaminade, 13-10, in the 1987 final.
"It's incredible," Harris said. "There's no feeling like this in the world. We worked so hard for this and we finally did it. "
By Carlos Arias
Friday, December 12, 1998
The Orange County Register - D9
