Desert-Mountain Conference : Woodbridge Wins on Last-Minute Touchdown

The mist at Irvine High School was so thick Friday night that if you were in the Woodbridge stands you could hear, but barely see, the Chaminade fans across the field.

And if you were Woodbridge quarterback Fred Schweer, back to pass from the 32-yard line, the end zone was merely a distant blur.

But with 50 seconds left in the game, with Woodbridge down by four points, Schweer threw the ball toward the general direction of the one-yard line. Receiver Dax Jordan rose out of the fog, caught the ball and fell into the corner of the end zone for the winning touchdown.

Woodbridge of Irvine beat Chaminade of Canoga Park, 13-10, for its first ever Desert-Mountain championship.

“Yeah, I could see him,” Schweer said. “No, no I couldn’t see him. Oh my God.”

Schweer was understandably overcome. The junior quarterback had overcome adversity all season but never this dramatically. Thrown into the starting role in the third game of the season, when senior Eric Brougher went down with an injury, Schweer led his team to six straight victories and a playoff birth. In the playoffs, Schweer missed one game due to a bruised kidney but came back last week to pass his team into the championship game.

But in the second half of the game, Schweer saw Woodbridge’s narrow 6-0 halftime lead, gained on two Keith Boothroyd field goals, slip away to a rejuventaed Chaminade second half offense and the Eagles pummeling defense.

Schweer completed 5 of 14 passes for 51 yards in the first half but overthrew a number of receivers. With three minutes left in the first half, Schweer was hit hard by Chaminade’s Felix Goodson and left the game. He came back in the second half, but Chaminade’s defense, led by linebacker Tim Lavin and defensive end Scott Chandler, sacked Schweer four times for a loss of 24 yards.

Chaminade also managed to score after being shut out in the first half, first on a 37-yard field goal by Chris Noonan in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run by Joseph Norton. Tailback Time Lavin, who gained 28 yards in the first half, rushed for 37 yards in the second half and senior quarterback David Morrison, who replaced junior Greg Baumgartner, completed 4 passes for 62 yards to set up Chaminade’s go-ahead touchdown.

But on Woodbridge’s desperation drive, after being sacked on second down for a loss of eight yards, Schweer first passed to running back John Rios for a 25-yard gain, then threw to Jordan for the winning touchdown.

“He made an excellent decision,” Woodridge Coach Gene Noji said. “Rios was the best matchup on a linebacker. He was open.”

Rios provided most of Woodbridge’s offense in the game, gaining 72 yards on 21 carries.

Woodbridge finished the season 13-1. Chaminade, the Santa Fe League champion, finished 11-2.