Ranger gridders raid Pirate defense
by Peter Deneen

Led by sophomore quarterback Ryan Whitcomb and agile junior back Marty Vogel, the Nordhoff varsity football team beat Santa Ynez in a possible playoff preview.
Add another episode to the arduous rivalry between powerhouse Santa Ynez Pirates and our hometown heroes, the Rangers. In a contest which featured a young and talented varsity squad against a veteran Pirates team, it was the veterans making the mistakes Friday night before a full house at Ojai Valley Community Stadium.
Whitcomb commanded the Ranger squad, capitalizing on fundamental mistakes made by the opposing Pirates.
Amidst a blunder of flying turf, grunts and clashing pads, Ranger Will Strong muscled his way into the end zone from the two-yard line to give Nordhoff a 9-0 lead. The lead was trimmed 9-7 when Santa Ynez scored on a 77-yard run with 7:11 left in the half. Meanwhile, junior running back Vogel was piling up the yards. Vogel finished the game with 109 yards in 23 attempts.
"I think we're gonna' destroy 'em," said Vogel midway through the second quarter.
Nordhoff's defense smothered a late drive by the Pirates near the end of the first half. Strong finished with 12 tackles to pace the defense, followed by Josh Catlett and Jairus Rothermel each with six. Clark Bigler picked up two fumbles by a sloppy Pirate offense.
With time running out in the half, Whitcomb looked to the left for sophomore receiver Andy Doyle who was covered by two Pirate defenders. As Doyle turned to face Whitcomb he fired an errant pass. Doyle dove to catch the ball on the 33, setting up a string of plays.
Jaymes Quirino teamed up with Whitcomb again to set up a quick fade to Jairus Rothermel for a touchdown to give the Rangers a 16-7 lead. Just as it looked as if the Pirates would hang onto the ball for the remaining minute of the half, the Rangers recovered the ball with just 54.1 seconds to play.
As the end of the game approached, head coach Cliff Farrar played it safe and ran the clock.
Nordhoff's offense picked right up where it left off to begin the second half. Versatile junior Quirino scored a touchdown and kicked the field goal with 4:33 to play in the third to give Nordhoff a 23-7 lead. Overall, Quirino completed three for three from the field and scored a touchdown to lead the offense with 12 points scored.
When asked about starting such a young quarterback, coach Farrar responded, "Ryan's done a fine job. He's been taking his 'reps' all year and it really showed tonight. He responded well. We had really good practice all week and I was hoping the boys would respond and they did. The kids did a nice job tonight."
"It was great," said Whitcomb. "It's a nice change from last week. We just came out bangin' tonight."
As the Rangers celebrated their 28-14 victory, Vogel strode by confidently and exclaimed, "I told you so!"

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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