PREP FOOTBALL : Pacific Coast League : Woodbridge Gets Its Kicks in Victory Over Costa Mesa

Of all things, Woodbridge High School football Coach Gene Noji has a kicking controversy on his hands.

The Warriors are all set at the quarterback position. Junior Eric Brougher passed for 113 yards and 3 touchdowns Friday night to lead Woodbridge to a 38-18 victory over Costa Mesa in a Pacific Coast League game played in front of 600 in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

And the Warriors’ offensive backfield is in fine shape. Senior David Townsend ran for 100 yards in 19 carries and scored a touchdown against the Mustangs to help Woodbridge improve to 2-1 in league and 7-1 overall. Jimmy Burke added 56 yards in 7 carries as the Warriors rolled up 195 yards on the ground.

But all isn’t quiet on the kicking front. Not after Friday night.

In their first seven games, the Warriors had split the kicking duties between juniors Keith Boothroyd and Jeff Smith, with Boothroyd kicking all the extra points and medium-range field goal attempts and Smith handling all the kickoffs and long-range field goal attempts.

That’s the way it worked Friday night until Woodbridge built a 21-point lead in the third quarter. Boothroyd had kicked the first three extra points, but when Brougher threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Dax Jordan for a 27-6 lead Noji decided to give Smith a crack at an extra point.

He made it. Later in the third quarter, after Brougher threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jordan, Smith came on again to kick the extra point, giving Woodbridge a 35-6 lead.

Then Smith had to go and kick a school-record 47-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. That got Noji thinking.

“One (Smith) has a little more power than the other, but they’re both excellent kickers,” he said “They’re both in the same grade, so we’ll have to give them both a chance to kick extra points now.”

Noji can thank the Los Angeles Rams, those masters of the quarterback controversy, for his latest dilemma. He sent Boothroyd and Smith to Rams Camp this year to work with Ram kicker Mike Lansford, and it definitely shows. The Warriors will have an excellent kicking game for at least another season.

As for Friday night, Noji can also thank his offensive line for heavily contributing to the victory, which he called “probably the best game we’ve ever played at Woodbridge High School. Period.”

The line of Wayne Rapp, David Cohen, Brian Reed, John Addington and Mike Goodman gave Brougher more than enough time to throw and Townsend and Burke plenty of running room.

Costa Mesa, meanwhile, committed four turnovers (two fumbles and two interceptions) and dropped to 2-1 in league, 5-3 overall. The Mustangs are in a three-way tie for second place with Woodbridge and Laguna Beach.

Mike Crowe completed 11 of 23 passes for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Tyler Riddell rushed for 108 yards in 18 carries and scored a touchdown.