Northwood rallies to defeat Segerstrom
SANTA ANA -- For the second consecutive week, Northwood erased an early deficit to score a come-from-behind victory.
This time Segerstrom was its victim.
The Timberwolves, trailing by 11 points in the second quarter, scored the game’s final 22 points in a 25-14 victory over the Jaguars in a CIF-Southern Section Southern Division second-round game at Segerstrom High.
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“These kids have a lot of heart,” Northwood coach Rick Curtis said. “They never give up, and they certainly don’t want to lose.”
Northwood (8-3-1), competing in the playoffs for the first time since 2005, advances to the semifinals, where it will travel to face top-seeded Garden Grove on Friday. Garden Grove ousted Woodbridge on Friday.
Segerstrom (9-3) was the champion of the Golden West League. The Jaguars, seeking to become the first team in school history to advance to a semifinal playoff game, took a 7-3 lead on its fourth play from scrimmage when Gary Ferman ran for an 80-yard touchdown. Ferman finished with 194 yards on 22 carries.
Minutes later, quarterback Max Padilla hit Ferman for a 19-yard strike to cap a 9-play, 63-yard drive for a 14-3 lead. The Jaguars committed three false-start penalties on the drive but were aided on by an offsides penalty by the Timberwolves on a fourth-and-3 play while they were in punt formation.
Segerstrom committed 12 penalties for 65 yards.
“Those were huge,” Jaguars coach Mike Maceranka said. “We just couldn’t get anything going. Every time we get 10 yards, we’d go five yards back.”
Northwood cut into that lead on its ensuing possession when quarterback Ricky Bautista found Jake Nieber alone on the right sideline for a 61-yard touchdown. Bautista finished 16-of-25 passing for 237 yards and three touchdowns.
The Timberwolves took the lead for good when Bautista found Tyler Molnar for a 16-yard touchdown.
with 9:32 left in the third quarter.
Northwood’s final score came on a 21-yard strike by Bautista to Reed Gubernick.
