Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Woodside’s Daniel Torres

Was fumbling the ball the best thing that could have happened to Woodside senior Daniel Torres?

Judging by the way he responded, the answer just might be “yes.” Torres bounced back from the second-quarter miscue — one he committed while the Wildcats’ 48-27 win over Capuchino was still hanging in the balance — to become the runaway choice for Daily Journal Athlete of the Week.

The “2s” were wild for Torres, as the senior scored four touchdowns on the night, two rushing and two receiving, while totaling 222 yards. He wasn’t done there, though, as in just his third career game at cornerback, he corralled two interceptions. It was quite a showing in response to coughing up the pigskin in the red zone.

“I knew I couldn’t be down on myself with that fumble,” Torres said. “I definitely messed up, but the only thing I could do was respond.”

The thing is, even Torres’ fumble was an exceptional play on his part. After taking a short pass from quarterback Charlie Dalrymple, Torres turned upfield and went full-on bowling ball by rolling through an array of would-be tackles. Even as he lost his grip on the football while colliding with another Cap defender 10 yards shy of the goal line, Torres looked like he was on the verge of breaking that tackle as well.

“As soon as that happened, I knew we’re going to get him the ball again,” Woodside head coach Justin Andrews said.

Sure enough, Torres responded — and responded quickly.

The senior had already given the Wildcats the lead twice in the first quarter — first on a 26-yard touchdown catch for the game’s first score, then to break a 7-all time with an 8-yard run. Woodside was leading 21-13 when he fumbled at the 10 with 4:50 to go in the half. But after the Wildcats forced a punt, the first person to touch the ball was Torres.

The result, a menacing 58-yard touchdown run.

“That was one of the angriest touchdown runs I’ve ever seen, just because that’s the type of competitor that he is,” Andrews said.

“Getting the ball in the end zone after that play was definitely huge, bringing up my spirit and the team,” Torres said. “The team knew we were going to do something, so it definitely helped to do it right away.”

Amazingly, Torres doubled down on the next play from scrimmage, intercepting Capuchino’s first-down pass near midfield, his second pick of the half.

It was the first of three interceptions on three straight possessions, with Cap taking it back on an interception from Brody Farrugia with 36 seconds to go in the half. Woodside, however, intercepted it right back when sophomore JJ Lange got in on the act, returning it for a pick-6 score to sent Woodside into the locker room with a head of steam.

“Just intensity,” Torres said of what Woodside did to turn things around. “We know that we needed to win, and no matter what the lead is going into halftime, we need to make it bigger. So, just knowing the game was never over till it’s zeroes on the clock. So, just full-on intensity.”

Lange added another touchdown in the second half, returning a punt 51 yards to make it 42-13. Torres then made it 48-21 late in the third quarter with a 32-yard touchdown catch from Dalrymple.

“That kid is special,” Andrews said. “We knew what we had with him, but he still surprises us every week with just his playmaking ability, his tenacity. It’s really, really fun to coach a kid like that.”

Torres’s performance vaults him into the team lead in both rushing (387 yards) and receiving (312 yards), while putting him in a commanding lead with 12 total touchdowns. He has scored multiple TDs in each of Woodside’s games amid a 4-0 start.

“He’s really, really calm, really even keel,” Andrews said. “But once it’s time to compete, it’s a flipped switch. And it’s really fun to watch.”