The UHS Trojans created some history Saturday night at Anaheim’s Handel Stadium on the campus of Western High School shutting out Magnolia HS, 44-0. All the scoring came in the first half.
This was Uni’s first road win since Oct 2018, first win outside of Irvine since Sep 2017 and first road shutout win since Sep 2017. This was also the Trojans’ largest margin of victory and biggest shutout as far back as MaxPreps goes (2004).
Uni passed for over 300 yards and held Magnolia to minus 57 yards of total offense. This win avenged last year’s 16-8 home loss to Magnolia. One man wrecking crew Sr Sean Thompson was unavailable for Magnolia this time around.
Jr QB Koa Saito completed 13 of 17 passes for 292 yards tossing three TDs to a pair of Jr wideouts (two to Blaine Anderson and another to Jonathan Soto). Anderson caught 4 passes for 126 yards while Soto hauled in 4 for 52.
Jr RB Jai Williams contributed three scores with a pair of untouched one-yard runs and a 10 yard run via a back pass from Saito. Williams had 17 yards on the ground and 44 reception yards.
Jr kicker Skye Murphy boomed 6 PAT kicks. The second half was done with a running clock and provided an opportunity for many Trojan reserves to get some game action.
The Trojan defense was also key, holding Magnolia to 27 yards passing, minus 84 yards on the ground and only a pair of first downs. The Uni defense had 8 sacks, 6 tackles and a safety. A trio of seniors led the way. DE Devin Fowler had 6 tackles including one for loss and one sack. LB Pax Lang had 5 tackles, two of which were sacks. LB Chris Rue also had 5 tackles (one for loss and one sack) and forced two fumblesJr DB Brooks Beckmann intercepted a pass to end the game.
Many of you attended the Varsity game on Saturday evening and observed the injury that Sophomore Jack Keeling suffered. The injury required emergency care and transport by ambulance. Jack is back at home and recovering from a leg injury. The Keelings are very appreciative of all the support from our strong UNI Football family. The coaching staff and players awarded Jack the game ball signed by the team. We wish Jack a successful recovery.
1-1 Uni’s next game will be Friday night, Sep-2 at 0-2 Ocean View HS in Huntington Beach.