Woodside claims Lake opener

When the dust finally settled after nearly three-and-a-half hours of play, Woodside came out on top, 45-33.

And to think — Jefferson held a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Woodside quarterback Brody Crowley misfired on his first 12 pass attempts, before leaving late in the first half with a wrist injury, as the Wildcats had just 132 yards of offense at halftime.

But Woodside (1-0 PAL Lake, 4-1 overall) used a couple of big plays on special teams and defense before receiver Scott Morimoto got involved.

In the second half, the Woodside offense finally found a rhythm, scoring on the first four possessions of the second half before using the victory formation to run out the clock.

After exchanging punts to open the game, Jefferson (0-1, 3-2) took a 7-0 lead when quarterback Joaquin Alvarez found Tariq Byrd down the left sideline for a 30-yard scoring strike. The Grizzlies made it 14-0 with 1:49 left in the first quarter when Alvarez hit Victor Hernandez for a 21-yard score on a post pattern.

Woodside, meanwhile, could not get anything going, so Isaiah Henderson decided to take matters into his own hands. After the Woodside defense forced a Grizzlies punt, Henderson stationed himself way deep for the ensuing punt. The ball was well short and Henderson scooped the ball up on his own 24.

The Jefferson coverage team, however, overran the play and Henderson picked his way through the wash before he found daylight and spurted 76 yards to get Woodside on the scoreboard.

Jefferson took the kickoff and moved into Woodside territory before the Wildcats’ defense made their presence felt. Tommy Williams stepped in front of an Alvarez pass for an interception and returned it down to the Jefferson 17. Two plays later, Crowley completed his first pass of the evening — a 10-yard scoring pass to Morimoto. The extra point failed and Woodside still trailed, 14-13.

The Wildcats stopped the Grizzlies on fourth down on their next possession and after moving from his own 36 to midfield, Crowley found Morimoto again, this time on an underneath screen. With blockers in front, Morimoto motored 50 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Crowley, however, hurt his wrist on the play and watched the rest of the game from the sidelines.

His backup, Trevor Cook, acquitted himself well, however. Cook guided the Wildcats to four straight scores in the second half, competing 6 of 10 passes for 140 yards and touchdown.

Down 20-14 heading into the third quarter, Jefferson took the second-half kickoff and marched 61 yards on seven plays, striking pay dirt when Alvarez found Henry Tom for a 31-yard touchdown on a blown defensive assignment, giving the Grizzlies a 21-20 lead.

It would be the last of the night for Jefferson. Woodside took the lead for good on its first possession of the second half, driving 60 yards on seven plays, overcoming a pair of penalties along the way. On second down at the Grizzlies’ 29, Nathan Yoho took a handoff on a little misdirection play in the backfield. After clearing the line of scrimmage, Yoho turned upfield and bulled his way into the end zone for a 29-yard rumble to give the lead back to Woodside, 27-21.

Jefferson was facing a three-and-out on its next possession, but the Wildcats jumped offsides and instead of punting, the Grizzlies went for it and picked up the first down.

The drive eventually bogged down and the Grizzlies turned the ball over on downs.

Woodside went right back to work. Starting from their own 19, Cook hooked up with Ethan Steinmetz for a 19-yard gain and then hit David Silk for a 54-yard gain down to the Jefferson 21.

Three plays later, Cook hit Silk on a quick slant for a 5-yard touchdown and a 33-21 lead.

The Wildcats pushed their lead to 39-21 when Yoho rumbled into the end zone from 24 yards out with 5:12 left in the game.

Jefferson, however, had one last gasp. The Grizzlies needed just four plays to go 80 yards, with Alvarez hooking up with Byrd on a 62-yard scoring pass to cut the lead to 39-27 with 4:08 remaining.

The Grizzlies recovered the ensuing onside kick and took advantage, with Alvarez scampering 7 yards for a score and Jefferson trailed just 39-33 with 3:07 left.

They would get no closer as Woodside iced the game with a Cook 6-yard touchdown run with 1:12 to play.

Alvarez finished the game with 297 yards passing and four touchdowns on 23 of 47 passing. He ran for a fifth score. Brooks Daniels was the Grizzlies’ leading rusher with 76 yards on 16 carries.

Yoho led Woodside’s ground attack, finishing with 103 yards on 20 carries as the Wildcats racked up 220 yards on the ground. This after gaining a combined 100 yards in their last two games.