PREP FOOTBALL : Brougher Comes Off Bench to Lead Woodbridge, 34-14

It didn’t take Woodbridge High School long to benefit from the luxury of having two quarterbacks.

Starting quarterback John Yurkovich, a senior, injured his right (throwing) hand taking snaps during the first series Thursday night against San Clemente, and Coach Gene Noji replaced him with Eric Brougher.

The junior went on to throw three touchdown passes and led the Warriors to a 34-14 season-opening victory over the Tritons in front of 800 at Irvine High School.

Woodbridge used a no-huddle offense in the first series, but it appeared to confuse the Warriors more than it did he Triton defense. Three plays gained seven yards and Yurkovich went to the sidelines shaking his right hand, which he originally injuried in the summer. The Warriors kept playing without a huddle until late in the game, however.

Brougher drove the Warriors to a touchdown on their second possession. Senior running back David Townsend completed the 10-play, 37-yard drive with a 1-yard run. The extra point was no good, and Woodbridge led, 6-0.

“We figured we might as well not take a chance this early in the season,” Noji said. “Both quarterbacks knew they were going to play tonight. It’s good to have them both ready.”

Brougher completed 13 of 19 attempts for 160 yards with 1 interception in his first game as a varsity quarterback.

San Clemente took its only lead at 7-6 on a three-yard run by senior tailback Dan Morgan with 1:17 left in the first quarter. Morgan was the game’s leading rusher with 108 yards in 13 carries.

Woodbridge took a 13-7 halftime lead when Derrick Odum scored on a 19-yard reverse. The Warriors increased the lead to 20-7 in the third quarter when Brougher connected with Townsend on a 16-yard touchdown pass play.

Morgan scored the other San Clemente touchdown with 13 seconds left in the third quarter on a 29-yard run to cut Woodbridge’s lead to 20-14.

The Warriors scored with 5:02 left to take a 27-14 lead. Townsend beat two Triton linebackers down the right sideline and caught a 28-yard scoring pass from Brougher. He finished with 93 yards rushing in 15 carries and 75 yards receiving in 4 catches.