Dodd’s Marina debut a success

Mike Sciacca, Independent

Back in late August, Mike Dodd admitted to having butterflies,

thinking about his debut as head football coach at Marina High.

Not only that, but some of his opening game jitters had to do with the

fact that Marina, which usually plays its home games at Westminster High,

was opening its 2000 season by hosting Paramount at Huntington Beach

High, a place where Dodd coached baseball for the past 19 years and

worked with the Oilers football program, as well.

Those butterflies didn’t subside until the final minute of Friday

night’s nonleague game, when Kevin Rodriguez’s 20 yard run all but ran

out the clock and made Dodd’s debut a success as Marina scored a 12-3

victory before 1,500 at Sheue Field.

“I was still nervous about this game until Kevin’s run,” Dodd said.

“Now I know that we’re not going to go 0-10.

“All kidding aside, I thought our kids played real hard tonight. The

coaches worked hard, and I think we were pretty disciplined throughout

the game. It’s a big win.”

Dodd also attributed win No. 1 to the Vikings defense, and rightfully

so.

Marina held a quick Paramount offense in check most of the night. In

fact, the Vikings limited the Pirates to just 91 yards of total offense

and kept them out of the end zone.

The defense also was responsible for two fumble recoveries, one each

by Bernard Mitchell and Kenny Weber that thwarted Paramount deep in

Marina territory on the Pirates’ first two possessions of the game.

The Vikings also had Paramount quarterback Willie Brisco on the run

most of the night, dropping the senior for losses on six occasions. In

addition, they also had two other tackles for loss.

“The defense did a tremendous job,” Dodd said of his stop unit. “They

really kept us in the ballgame. Our offense struggled a bit, but we’ll

get better as the season progresses. We also had some sophomores along

the offensive line, and they’re still learning.”

Paramount took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on Jesus Guerra’s

33 yard field goal, but Marina responded on its ensuing drive, moving 44

yards in seven plays, to the Paramount 19-yard line. The Vikings stalled

there, but Sean Sanchez came on to boot a 35-yard field goal to knot the

score with 11:10 to play in the half.

The drive was highlighted by Adam Hayward’s 20 yard run on his second

carry of the game.

The junior running back/linebacker, a two-way starter, led all rushers

with 60 yards on eight carries.

Marina scored two points and took a 5-3 lead on a safety when

Paramount center JR Lolohea snapped the ball over the head of punter

Manuel Avelar and through the back of the end zone with 5:49 left in the

second quarter.

“Adam gave us a real spark at the beginning and overall, I thought he

did a real nice job,” Dodd said of Hayward’s performance. “Our offense

struggled at times, but we showed some signs of moving in the right

direction.”

Actually, Marina’s offensive line broke into the scoring column when

center Chris Hanvey recovered Beau Brown’s fumble into the end zone for

the clinching touchdown with 9:27 remaining on the game clock.

Brown took off on an option keeper on fourth-and-three from the

five-yard line, was hit at the three by Pirate nose tackle Uimatu Tivao

(who had three tackles for loss in the contest), and fumbled when hit.

The ball squirted forward and bounced end over end unto the end zone,

where Hanvey pounced on the loose ball.

Sanchez’s point after made it a 12-3 game.

“That was a huge play and pretty much put us in control,” Dodd said.

“There was still plenty of time left on the clock, so I wasn’t thinking

it was over by a long shot.”

Marina’s defense stopped Paramount on its final two possessions of the

game, the last of which came with 4:02 left when Brisco, under a heavy

rush by noseguard Andrew Strother, had his fourth down pass from the

Marina 34-yard line fall well incomplete.

The Viking offense ran out the clock from there, and Rodriguez’s

20-yard burst up the middle to the Paramount six-yard line allowed Dodd a

sigh of relief.

“It only gets tougher from here,” said Dodd, referring to Marina’s

next two games against defending Division VI champion Newport Harbor, and

defending Suburban League champ Mayfair. “But, for now, we’re going to

enjoy this one.”

Marina travels to Newport Harbor next Thursday in a 7 p.m. nonleague

game at Davidson Field. Last year, the two teams fought to a 21-21 tie.