Woodbridge’s Gifford Misses Conversion, Then Hits Winning Field Goal

One moment he stood dejected on the sideline, and the next, Gable Gifford had the foot of the hour for Woodbridge High.

Gifford kicked a 22-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining in the game to give Woodbridge a 31-29 victory over Saddleback in a Sea View League game Thursday night at Santa Ana Stadium.

But about 4 1/2 minutes earlier, Gifford had gone through a kicker’s nightmare. He missed an extra-point attempt that would have tied the score, 29-29, apparently dashing Woodbridge’s hopes.

Such is the wacky business of placekicking.

“I was just concentrating on getting it through,” Gifford said of the winning field goal. “I was very nervous. I was trying to put it (the missed extra-point attempt) out of my mind.”

The field goal capped a remarkable comeback by the Warriors (4-2, 1-1 in league), who trailed, 29-15, at the half.

Saddleback (2-4-1, 1-1) seemed headed for victory when quarterback Danny Ruvolo began to pick apart the Warrior secondary in the second quarter and with some fine running by tailback Adolfo Ornelas. Ruvolo ran for a one-yard touchdown and combined with running back Luis Estrella on a 13-yard pass play for another score, and Ornelas added a 38-yard touchdown run to give the Roadrunners a 14-point lead after two quarters.

Ruvolo had 102 of his 173 passing yards and Ornelas picked up 105 of his game-high 148 rushing yards in the first half. But Woodbridge tightened its defense after intermission.

“The key here is we never gave up,” Woodbridge Coach Rick Gibson said. “We told them (Woodbridge players) that if we shut them out, we could score.”

Woodbridge narrowed the Saddleback lead to 29-22 when quarterback James Wyatt plunged in from the one-yard line with 4:42 left in the third quarter and pulled within one after Wyatt connected with tight end Scott Coker on a 23-yard pass. Gifford’s wide kick followed.

Wyatt passed for 129 yards and tailback Glenn Edwards rushed for 123 yards for Woodbridge.