Aliso Niguel Getting Its Act Together at the Right Time

Aliso Niguel Coach Joe Wood has been through a lot this season, but the worst might be over for him and his Wolverines. After dealing with an 0-4 start and a host of attitude problems, Wood seems to be rounding his team into shape at just the right time.

The Wolverines played their best game of the season Thursday night at Irvine High--beating up on University, 20-9, and staying undefeated in the Pacific Coast League.

Aliso Niguel (4-4, 3-0) appears ready for its showdown next week with defending league champion Laguna Hills. Its offense moved the ball with ease all night as running backs Devon Sutton, Jeff Stanton and Iman Nikzad combined for 225 yards rushing. The defense held University to 72 yards of offense--minus 15 yards rushing and 87 passing. Sixty-five of the passing yards came on one play, a touchdown pass from Andy Dennis to Chet Johnson in the third quarter.

“I’m proud of this team tonight,” Wood said. “We’ve been through a lot of adversity. This game might be the first positive sign we’ve seen all season. We’re getting better and we’re coming together as a team.”

Playing University tends to bring Aliso Niguel together. The Wolverines had never lost to University and they didn’t want that to change Thursday night.

“That’s a big motivation for us,” said Nikzad, who rushed for 54 yards in 11 carries. “We’ve never lost to this team and we’ve never lost on this field. We’ve had a tough preseason, but hopefully we’re coming together.”

The Wolverines were dealt another blow this week when starting quarterback Jared Hill was suspended from the team indefinitely for an off-the-field incident. But Aliso Niguel’s offense looked sharp behind backup quarterback Bryant Durst, who ran the option well and completed three of four passes for 45 yards.

Aliso Niguel’s offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage throughout the game, opening massive holes for Sutton, Stanton and Nikzad. Sutton led the way with 118 yards and a touchdown in 22 carries. Stanton had 57 yards and a touchdown in 13 carries.

The Wolverines led 15-3 at the half after capitalizing on two University fumbles deep in its own territory. They could have won by a wider margin but four turnovers and 169 yards in penalties kept the game reasonably close.

University never established a ground game or a passing attack. The Trojans were dominated up front by the quicker Aliso Niguel lineman and linebackers, who sacked University quarterbacks 10 times and forced one interception. University running back Reggie Edwards, who ran for 150 yards last week against Costa Mesa, was held to two yards in seven carries.