GARDEN GROVE – Kennedy couldn’t shut down Pacifica’s offense all night, but the visiting Fighting Irish responded after falling behind by 11 points in the fourth quarter Friday and rallied for an 18-14 Empire League victory at Bolsa Grande High.
Adrian Quezada ran for a touchdown and two-point conversion with 7 minutes to play, then, after Kennedy (4-3 overall, 1-1 Empire) stopped the Mariners (1-6, 0-2) inside its red zone, led an 81-yard march for the winning score, a 40-yard pass play to Derrick Deese with 59 seconds remaining.
The Fighting Irish allowed Pacifica just 1 yard of offense in the first half, but the Mariners changed things up after halftime, with Nick Garcia throwing short passes into the flats and to the sidelines to go ahead on their first second-half drive. Garcia, who threw for 157 yards in the second half after missing on all five first-half throws, bulled in from the 1.
The Mariners made it 14-3 just 18 seconds into the fourth quarter, after collecting their fourth fumble of the night – three by star Kennedy running back T.J. Williams, who ran for 105 yards – with Garcia connecting with Tirek Benjamin deep down the right sideline for 73 yards.
Kennedy answered with a 64-yard drive, with Quezada twice hitting Deese for double-digit gains and Joey Ortega (91 yards on eight carries) running for 10 and 15 on sweeps, the second to the Mariners’ 10. Quezada went the final 2 for the score, then ran for two points after a penalty put the ball on the 1 for the conversion.
Pacifica has lost four games by four or fewer points.
