Zaragoza Leads Magnolia Past Fullerton, 38-15

Led by its quarterback Daniel Zaragoza, Magnolia was able to spoil Fullerton’s homecoming, 38-15, Friday night at Fullerton High.

Zaragoza beat the Indians on the ground and in the air as he rushed for three touchdowns and passed for two.

The teams entered the game undefeated at 2-0, but Magnolia shocked the Indians early on a 65-yard keeper by Zaragoza. He faked a handoff to running back Will Speer, which fooled most of the Indians’ defense, and ran around end and down the left sideline to give the Sentinels a 7-0 lead.

A penalty nullified a 60-yard touchdown pass, but Magnolia wasn’t hurt; the Sentinels scored later on the same drive when Zaragoza found Asi Faoa for a 30-yard touchdown pass.

Fullerton’s first score came when Indians defensive back Andres Zarate recovered a fumbled snap and ran it in from 22 yards to pull the Indians within six, 13-7.

Magnolia, which led 31-7 at the half, maintained the lead in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to please Sentinel Coach Bill Friedrich.

“Sloppy second half, we just lost that intensity,” Friedrich said. “We need to redefine ourselves to getting better next week.”

Zaragoza agreed that his team didn’t play well in the second half, but he was pleased with the performance of his offensive line.

“[Fullerton] stunted a lot,” Zaragoza said. “Our line picked up the defensive blitzes very well.”

Zaragoza led his team in rushing with 70 yards and passing with 186.