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PREP EXTRA: ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : Foothill Cruises Past Woodbridge : Football: Knights overcome poor first half for 36-0 nonleague victory.

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

When an offensive lineman leads the team in rushing, it’s a signal of an offense with trouble.

Woodbridge High’s turnovers and ineffective offense gave fourth-ranked Foothill an easy 36-0 nonleague victory Friday night at Irvine High.

Woodbridge (0-2), which has not scored this season, managed only 52 yards of offense, only 19 rushing. The Warriors also committed three turnovers, two of which led to Foothill scores.

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Offensive lineman Mike Meachum was Woodbridge’s leading rusher with seven yards after he picked up teammate Billy Battle’s fumble for a seven-yard gain.

Tramel Robinson rushed for a 138 yards--119 in the second half--and two touchdowns in 14 carries to lead Foothill (2-0), which struggled on offense in the first half before pouring it on in the second.

Foothill Coach Tom Meiss was more concerned about the Knights’ first-half showing than the lopsided victory.

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“We stunk,” he said. “I was tickled for our defense to score in the first half, but I wasn’t particularly pleased with our overall play. We just didn’t execute.”

Foothill, which finished with 329 total yards,, managed only 57 in the first half. The Knights took advantage of two Woodbridge miscues and good field position for a 15-0 halftime lead. Nick Sveslosky returned a fumbled punt 18 yards for a 6-0 lead with 7:38 remaining in the first quarter.

After a 19-yard punt gave Foothill possession on the Woodbridge 23 late in the quarter, fullback Lawrence Mariner scored on a 17-yard touchdown for a 12-0 advantage.

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An interception by Foothill’s Matt Bower late in the second quarter led to a 27-yard field goal by Cody Clemmons to cap the first-half scoring.

In the second half, a 53-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Lang to Clemmons, and two touchdowns by Robinson helped Foothill pull away.

Foothill played without junior defensive end Ruben Vaughan, who suffered a strained knee in last Friday’s victory over Tustin. Vaughan is expected to miss six weeks.

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