Woodbridge’s Jensen Rises to the Occasion

During most football seasons there comes a turning point, a game that challenges a team to rise above its perceived limitations and perform with courage and grace under fire.

Woodbridge and its defensive leader, Eric Jensen, had such a moment last week against San Clemente. And did they ever respond.

Jensen, a junior linebacker, spearheaded a Woodbridge defensive scheme that shut out San Clemente, which had been averaging 36 points in its three victories. He had a team-high seven tackles (two for losses).

Jensen, 16, was a key reason Woodbridge was able to keep San Clemente off the scoreboard despite four Warrior turnovers and San Clemente having the ball six times inside the Warrior 25.

That same defensive excellence has helped Woodbridge to a 3-0-1 record heading into tonight’s game at Aliso Niguel. The Warriors have given up slightly more than eight points a game, the seventh-best average in the county.

Last year, Woodbridge gave up an average of nearly 27 points during a 0-10 season.

Jensen takes pride in the Warriors’ turnaround, but he’s not necessarily surprised by it.

“We were in the games last year, at least in the beginning,” Jensen said. “Sometimes we were just a play away.

“This year, we’ve been in those kinds of games where we’ve gotten more breaks. And even though there is less experience on the team this season, everyone seems more enthusiastic. Most of the guys don’t have last year hanging over them.”

At 5 feet 9, 170 pounds, Jensen is not a typical (read: big, physical) middle linebacker, but he is a typical Woodbridge defender. The Warriors, who play their version of the “Desert Swarm” defense made famous by Arizona, don’t have the size or muscle to slug it out against beefy offensive lines. They depend on quickness to beat blockers and make tackles.

Jensen, who is the team’s leading tackler (24), excels in that defensive scheme, according to his coaches.

“He reads plays quickly and gets to his area of responsibility quickly,” Woodbridge Coach Rick Gibson said. “And he is a very sure tackler. He’s not ultra-big, but he is strong from [lifting weights].

“When I saw him as a freshman, I thought he would be our next running back because he is quick and elusive. If he wasn’t such a good linebacker, he would get more than the five offensive plays a game he gets.”

Defensive coordinator Kirk Harris also admires Jensen’s abilities. “He plays with a lot of heart and covers a lot of the field,” said Harris, who added Jensen is doing the job expected of all Woodbridge inside linebackers.

“In our defense, he should be the leading tackler,” Harris said. “It’s set up for the inside linebacker to do that.”

Aliso Niguel Coach Joe Wood said the play of Jensen and Woodbridge has been “legitimate” this season.

“You can tell Eric has good vision to the ball at linebacker and has very good instincts,” Wood said. “As a team, they have good quickness on defense. It’s hard to break one on them because they swarm so well to the ball. Unless they have an off-night, you have to grind it out against them”.

Football was not the sport in which Jensen expected to find success. He was a member of the Irvine Strikers soccer team and thinks that’s the sport he probably will play in college.

But Jensen also knew he could not play both sports this fall. And when he sustained a slight tear of his left hamstring in June, which limited his summer workouts, he said he wanted to put all his conditioning efforts into getting ready for football.

“I’m still not in my best condition,” Jensen said. “I wasn’t able to do any running until August. It showed in the San Clemente game; I was real fatigued.”

There was nothing bothering his right leg, especially when he booted a 49-yard field goal for the final points against San Clemente. Jensen was subbing for the Warriors’ regular kicker, Steve Terwiske, who was sidelined with an injured hip.

It was Jensen’s first varsity attempt. He did some kicking on the freshman team, but had never kicked the ball in a varsity game.

Neither Jensen nor anyone else at Woodbridge is ready to declare the Warriors a threat to unbeaten Santa Margarita or Newport Harbor in the Sea View League race, but a victory against Aliso Niguel would help swell the Warriors’ confidence entering league play next week.

“I think we have the capability to challenge in league,” Jensen said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

WOODBRIDGE VS. ALISO NIGUEL

Featured Game

When: 7 tonight.

Where: Aliso Niguel High.

Records: Woodbridge 3-0-1, Aliso Niguel 1-3.

Rankings: Woodbridge is ranked No. 5 in the Southern Section Division V poll; neither team is ranked in the county sportswriters’ poll.

Noteworthy: Surprising Woodbridge, which came into the season without a victory in its past 25 games, wants to keep its season rolling along. Aliso Niguel, the defending Division VIII champions, has been plagued by inexperience and turnovers this season. A victory would give the Wolverines something to feel good about heading into Pacific Coast League play next week.