PREP EXTRA: SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : Aliso Niguel Staves Off Laguna Beach Rally, 45-39

A 29-point fourth quarter rally by Laguna Beach fell just short Friday night as Aliso Niguel held on for a 45-39 Pacific Coast League victory.

Leading, 45-10, with 7 minutes 49 seconds remaining in the game, the Artists nearly painted a masterful miracle finish, scoring four consecutive touchdowns, thanks to two onside kick recoveries.

Nate Pivaroff sparked the Laguna Beach flurry, throwing three touchdown passes. His favorite receiver, Aaron Chesley, caught two touchdown passes, of 49 and 23 yards. Shane Loidolt completed the rally with a 25-yard run and a 31-scoring pass from Pivaroff.

Pivaroff completed 16 of 30 passes for 287 yards in the game. The Wolverines built their early lead behind sophomore Scott Nemeth. Taking the opening kickoff on its own 25-yard line, Nemeth drove his Aliso Niguel team 70 yards in six plays. A 28-yard run by Nick Gerasimou set up the first score, a 10-yard run by Trent Purley.

Nemeth increased the the Wolverine lead to 22-3 late in the first half with two touchdown passes, a 14-yarder to Justin Martin and a six-yarder to Nick Gerasimou. Nemeth was near perfect form the pocket, completing 12 of 16 passes for 215 yards.

His best throw of the night may very well have been a third-quarter screen to DeAngelo Gossett.

Back-pedaling, Nemeth faked right and dumped a screen over a charging Laguna Beach player. Gossett did the rest, sprinting 60 yards for the touchdown and a 39-10 lead.