PREP FOOTBALL / Saturday Pullout : Aliso Niguel Wins Battle of Youth

Two inexperienced teams beginning new eras under vastly different circumstances met for the first game ever at Aliso Niguel High on Friday.

It was the host team’s first game in a full-blown varsity schedule and only its second ever.

Dana Hills, the visitor, had a new coach, Trace Deneke, after being Orange County’s most disappointing team a year ago.

And it was Aliso Niguel that showed the poise as the Wolverines delighted an overflow crowd of 3,500 with a 21-8 victory over the Dolphins.

“They made the big plays when they had to,” Deneke said. “They’ve got a real bright future.”

One of those plays came on defense, as John Hefty and Brad Moore ran down Dolphin quarterback Scott Maynard from behind at the end of a 46-yard gain to the 11; it prevented a touchdown. The Dolphins were unable to score and Aliso Niguel maintained its 14-8 lead.

“From the defensive standpoint, we talked about pursuit,” Wolverine Coach Joe Wood said. “It was an absolute big play.”

The defense came up with another big play four minutes into the fourth quarter as Nick Gerasimou intercepted a Maynard pass; his 19-yard return put the ball on the 15, and the Scott Nemeth-to-Joe Valenti combination scored its second touchdown, from 13 yards.

Nemeth completed 10 of 16 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed for another. His first scoring pass to Valenti covered 70 yards and made it 14-0.

Nemeth’s quarterback sneak was the school’s first varsity score; it came with 10:43 left in the second quarter.

Valenti had six catches for 116 yards.

Aliso Niguel, a second-year school playing with its first group of seniors, had only four players starting Friday who also started in last year’s 42-0 loss to Calvary Chapel in the school’s first varsity game. And Dana Hills had only four returning starters from last year’s team that appeared in the preseason top 10 and finished 1-9.

Aliso Niguel took a 14-0 lead on the strength of superior field position.

“I figured if we got the momentum, we would be OK,” Nemeth said. “We’re a young team, and I didn’t know how we would react if Dana Hills scored first.”

Nemeth capped a 54-yard drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak at 8:01 p.m., the Wolverines’ first-ever touchdown. The big play in the drive was a short pass to Brandon Littlefield that went for 32 yards.

The short passing game worked well in the first half as Nemeth passed to Valenti on a slant pattern. Valenti then outran the secondary for a 70-yard touchdown reception. Craig Vandewetering added his second extra point.

A face-mask penalty at the end of Robert Lathan’s 47-yard kickoff return helped Dana Hills close the gap. Lathan scored on a four-yard run.

Dana Hills missed another opportunity in the fourth quarter, still trailing by six, when Lathan recovered a muffed punt return at the Aliso Niguel 20, but an illegal procedure penalty nullified the play. Earlier in the game, Dana Hills had a touchdown called back because of a penalty.