Jaime, McGookin help Westminster run past Marina in Battle at Boswell

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Sept. 8, 2017 11:55 PM PT

Reporting from Westminster —

Ask anyone on the Westminster High football roster and they will tell you the same.

There are few feelings better than those they’re experiencing right now following an exhilarating, come-from-behind victory in the rivalry game known as the Battle at Boswell.

The rivalry, though always fierce, was taken to another level last year when it was played under its official name for the first time. Westminster and Marina both play their home games at Westminster High’s Boswell Field, and this year, both school’s fan bases came alive with dueling white-outs.

It was a black-and-blue, physical affair on the field, however, and that is how the Lions walked away victorious.

Christian Jaime carried the ball 26 times for 131 yards and a touchdown. Jacob McGookin added three scores on the ground, and the Lions rallied for a 34-20 nonleague win on Friday night.

In its opener, Westminster defeated Garden Grove (previously ranked No. 25 in Orange County). Against the Vikings (2-1), the Lions (2-0) rallied from a 20-6 deficit late in the second quarter, pitching a shutout the rest of the way.

“It feels good,” Jaime said of the wins his team has posted on the young season. “Honestly, it’s the best feeling. It feels amazing.”

McGookin, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound running back, said he gained inspiration from watching the smaller Jaime run between the tackles.

“I see this guy grinding his (butt) off, and that just makes me go out and get that extra yard. He finishes, I finish. It doesn’t matter who finishes, but we get it done.”

McGookin wound up with 65 yards on nine carries, but his touches came at critical points in the game. He was the fourth-down and short-yardage back.

On Westminster’s last drive, McGookin helped to seal the victory with a 40-yard dash off a screen pass on a third-and-seven on the opening series. From there, the Lions were content to run clock, although the drive ended with Jaime’s lone touchdown, making it 34-20 with 1:31 remaining.

“[Marina] came in here and took it last year,” McGookin said after his team had been presented the rivalry’s ceremonial trophy. “They thought it was their house, but I think we showed them tonight whose house it was.”

Marina coach Jeff Turley said that a 50-50 split of the plays on offense between the run and the pass would be the preferred game plan for his team. The Vikings stuck to that in the first half, with Ian Green taking 17 dropbacks to Marina’s 16 running plays.

Green showed off his arm, putting some velocity behind his throws to fit them into tight windows. He had 154 yards through the air at halftime, including a 41-yard deep pass to Nathan Pendleton that saw the junior receiver pull in the pass as he went to the ground on his backside.

“He’s one of our best receivers, and he makes plays,” Green said of Pendleton, who finished with four catches for 93 yards. “That’s why we throw him the ball.

That play set up Marina’s first touchdown, which erased a 6-0 Westminster lead when Green scrambled around the right side of his offensive line for an eight-yard score.

Ian Cook recovered the ensuing kickoff for the Vikings at the Westminster 28. Five plays later, Marina was in the end zone again. The scoring play came on a fourth-and-four. Green found David Zamora running a crossing route along the goal line from 12 yards out as the Vikings took a 13-6 lead.

Blaine Riederich added an eight-yard rushing touchdown when he ran through the middle of the line to give Marina a 20-6 lead with 2:24 left in the second quarter.

Lions quarterback Noah Melbon started the game with six straight incompletions, although several of those were drops. His first connection was a third-down conversion that went for 24 yards to Irving Rosete on Westminster’s final drive of the first half.

Later in the drive, Melbon completed a 13-yard pass to tight end Francisco Lopez, cutting the Marina lead to 20-12 going into the break.

Marina’s inability to get the running game going proved costly, as did the injury bug. Starting center Daniel Escamilla left with a knee injury and did not return.

By the end of the game, the Vikings were down to their third-string center in Nick Rakowski.

Green was also shaken up on an ankle tackle. The Vikings quarterback completed just two of his eight passing attempts after halftime.

Down 26-20, Marina moved the ball into the red zone with under six minutes to go. Green took shots into the end zone on third and fourth down, but he could not connect with either Cade Palma or Brandon Savea.

“Those are tough balls,” Green said. “They played good defense, so you’ve got to give it to them. I thought those were deciding plays of the game.”