Orange sophomore quarterback Star Thomas throws a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Adam Maldonado with under a minute in the second quarter to pull the Panthers ahead before halftime. (PHOTOS: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).
With the regular season winding down, each remaining game takes on added importance with teams positioning for CIF playoffs bids.
Friday night’s Foxtrot League game between Orange and Northwood at Irvine Stadium resembled a track meet as both teams stormed out of the gate and battled to the end.
Orange sophomore quarterback Star Thomas put on a show as he completed 22 of 26 passes – to eight different receivers – for 313 yards and threw two touchdowns. He also rushed for 52 yards and scored a TD as the Panthers (5-3, 2-1) held on to beat the Timberwolves (3-5, 0-3) 34-28 before Northwood’s homecoming crowd.
“I trusted my teammates and we need to continue to improve each week to get to the playoffs,” said Thomas, who has passed for 2,248 yards and has thrown 20 TD passes this season. He has also rushed for a team-leading 584 yards and scored five touchdowns. Thomas is also the Panthers leading rusher with 636 yards.
Orange moved a game ahead of Aliso Niguel (5-3, 1-2) for third place in league after the Wolverines lost to Laguna Beach (8-0, 3-0) Friday night. Dana Hills is tied with Laguna Beach for the first place in league.
Panthers Coach Robert Pedroza praised his quarterback following the game.
“Star is dynamic; he sees the whole field really well and he’s a great runner,” said Pedroza. “He puts in the time and is the hardest working player I’ve ever coached.”
After failing to score a touchdown in the previous two games, Northwood wasted no time getting on the board by marching 65 yards on the game’s opening possession in five plays to take a 7-0 lead. Isaac Kwon took a handoff and capped the drive by racing 44 yards for a touchdown. Kwon caught seven passes in the game for 112 yards and a TD.
The Panthers answered right back as sophomore wide receiver Kingston Hunter returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, but the Panthers missed the two-point conversion attempt and trailed 7-6. It was Hunter’s second career kickoff return for a touchdown.
Jack Schultz then promptly returned the subsequent kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, upping Northwood’s lead to 14-6. Once again, Orange countered as Thomas completed a short pass to Hunter who raced 44 yards for a TD, trimming the lead to 14-13.
“It’s a good win for us after losing to Dana Hills last week; we needed to get back on a winning streak,” said Hunter.
The Timberwolves responded with a 10-yard TD pass from quarterback Dylan E’pifanio to Kwon, making it 21-13 with two seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
The Panthers got back on the offensive quickly in the second quarter as they moved down field on a nine-play, 61-yard scoring drive capped off by Thomas’ 16-yard touchdown run, closing the gap to 21-20 with 6:19 left in the half.
After the Panthers defense stopped the Timberwolves on a fourth-down play later in the quarter, Thomas guided Orange on a nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive. Thomas completed a 33-yard TD pass to Adam Maldonado, who made a spectacular catch over the middle and raced into the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Panthers a 27-21 halftime lead.
Maldonado, along with teammate Malahki Allen, combined for nine receptions and 150 yards and a TD.
Orange outgained the Timberwolves 228-133 in the opening half.
The Panthers extended its lead to 34-21 in the third quarter after Benjamin Lafferre scored on a one-yard run at the 3:54 mark of the quarter.
The Timberwolves had an excellent scoring opportunity early in the final quarter at the Orange two-yard line but D’Epifanio’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete. D’Epifanio completed a 25-yard TD pass to Bert Chubb with 1:05 to play to cut the score to 34-28 but Northwood was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick, and Orange ran out the clock to secure the win.
“It’s probably the best game we played all season,” said Northwood coach Erik Terry. “I’m proud of these guys. They came with energy and heart from the pregame to halftime and in throughout the second half. They never quit.”
D’Epifanio agreed with his coach.
“It was our best game of the season,” said the sophomore quarterback who completed 13 passes for 169 yards and rushed for 51 yards. “We’ve been riddled with injuries all season. We lost our two best offensive linemen. After scoring 21 points in the first quarter, we lost Parsa (Rabiee), who is the heart and soul of our team. This game came down to who made that one mistake. We had a chance but couldn’t score down by the goal line. We’re still looking forward to playing football for the next two weeks.”
Notes:
—The first three teams in each league earn an automatic playoff bid while others can apply for at-large berths.
—-Orange finishes the regular season’s final two games against Aliso Niguel and Laguna Beach while Northwood will face Fountain Valley and Dana Hills.
—Friday was the first time this season Orange has fielded a full team with no injuries.
—Northwood has been plagued with the injury bug this season.
—“Our offensive line has been a revolving door all season due to injuries,” said Terry. “We haven’t had one game this season where all our starters have been healthy and playing at the same time. We know we must win two of our last three games to be considered for the playoffs. We must play flawless to beat Orange.”
—Due to extensive injuries, the Timberwolves will not be playing JV games for the remainder of the season. Instead, Northwood has agreed to play a Frosh/Soph game instead of a JV contest. At one point in a recent JV game coach Erik Terry said his team was down to 11 players.
—Northwood defensive back Parsa Rabiee injured his right knee with 2:17 left in the half and had to be helped off the field. He did not return. Terry said he will be re-evaluated in the next few days to see if he’ll be able to return this season.
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