Western uses fast start, late drive to top Fullerton

FULLERTON - Western dug into its bag of tricks early against Fullerton on Thursday and was rewarded handsomely both times.

But with the game on the line in fourth quarter, the Pioneers turned to their ground attack. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective.

Western used its running game to drive for one fourth-quarter touchdown and employed another wave of running plays to consume valuable minutes in preserving a 35-28 victory at Fullerton.

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Western running back Marcus Hays scored his fourth touchdown of the game with a 9-yard run with 7:44 to play to give the Pioneers a 35-21 lead.

Hays’ run capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive that lasted 4:34.

Fullerton (2-2), ranked seventh in the Southwest Division, continued its second-half surge by quickly driving for a score, which came on a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Anthony Martinez to cut Western’s lead to 35-28 with 6:27 left. The score was set up by a 48-yard run by running back Troy Pinelo to the Pioneers' 6.

Western (2-1) responded with another long drive on the ground. The Pioneers drove from their 34 and used all but six seconds of the remaining clock before turning the ball over on downs at Fullerton’s 19 yard line.

The Indians ran two plays but never crossed midfield.

"Our team fought hard," Hays said. "Our line blocked hard. They gave us holes."

Western relied heavily in the fourth quarter on running back Mike Jefferson. The junior finished with 94 yards on 22 carries and have several clutch runs. One of his biggest was an 11-yard gain on a third-and-10 that help set up Hays' fourth TD.

In the Pioneers' final drive, Jefferson broke a 19-yard run to the Indians' 9.

"He's a beast," Hays said of Jefferson (6-3, 215).

Hays, another junior, racked up 110 yards on 17 carries.

Western led, 28-7, at halftime before Fullerton made its charge with two scores in the third. Martinez ran for two TDs in the second half. Pinelo rushed for 89 of his 98 yards in the second half.

“It got a little scary there,” Western coach Toby Howell said of the fourth quarter. “They (Fullerton) have a good team.”

Western’s first trick play led to the first points of the game. The Pioneers sneaked the versatile Hays out at wide receiver, near their sideline.

Hays acted as if he were going to run off the field, and he was left uncovered for a 43-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Campbell with 5:43 remaining in the first quarter.

"They didn't notice me -- they thought I was going out," Hays said of Fullerton. "Our line lined real quick and they just threw it to me."

On the ensuing kickoff, a penalty was assessed on Fullerton and Western capitalized by recovering an onside kick at Fullerton’s 28. The recovery led to 5-yard touchdown run by Hays for a 14-0 lead with 2:51 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Hays scored on a 2-yard run for a 21-0 lead after Western's Domonique Young recovered a muffed punt at Fullerton’s 17.

With the victory, Western matched its victory total of 2009. Hays also had an interception.