Orange League : Rosa Leads Magnolia to 14-10 Victory Over Western in Opener

Bryan Rosa caught one touchdown pass and threw another to help lead Magnolia High School to a 14-10 victory Friday night over Western in an Orange League opener at Anaheim’s Handel Stadium.

Rosa, a wide receiver, caught a 10-yard screen pass from quarterback Mike Tietge in the first quarter and threw a 38-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Korpela in the second period for the Sentinels (5-1 overall) in the victory in front of 2,000 fans.

On the second touchdown, Rosa lined up at wide receiver, then took a handoff before he threw for the score. Magnolia set up the play by using the same formation earlier, except that Rosa ran instead of stopping and throwing. On the scoring play, when he pulled up to throw, the Western defense had already committed to the run so Korpela was open.

The score gave Magnolia a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. Only two plays before, Rosa ran the ball off the same play and gained 14 yards on a third-down play only to have a clipping penalty bring the ball back. An unsportsmanlike conduct foul on the Western bench then kept the drive alive.

“We had been running the counter play with Rosa often this year,” said John Hangartner, the Magnolia coach. “So we decided we had to give the pass a whirl and he threw a good pass.”

Western opened the game with running back options on the first two plays but David Brown could not get the ball to the receiver either time. The Pioneers struggled most of the game trying to move the ball against the Magnolia defense.

Western (0-1, 3-2-1) tied the game, 7-7, with 1:15 left in the first quarter on a one-yard run by quarterback Rich Lodding. The Pioneers recoved a fumble by Sentinel running back James Hargis on the Magnolia 32-yard line and drove the ball to the one-yard line before Lodding went in for the score.

Magnolia scored the first time it had the ball. The Sentinels took the opening kick off and drove the ball 65 yards in eight plays. Tietge completed four of five passes in the drive including the touchdown. The biggest play of the drive was a 30-yard run by Hargis who contributed 62 yards on 11 carries.

Western kicker Brown made a 35-yard field goal for the last score of the half and game. Western was forced to go for the field goal after Corey Wolik sacked Lodding for a 10-yard loss.