The American Canyon High boys basketball team lost to host Will C. Wood, 70-64, in overtime during a nonleague game in Vacaville.
Malik Ghiden had 18 points and Gamon Howard added 14 points for the Wolves (12-3). Danny Shollenberger had 11 points and Devin Booker added eight points, five of those in overtime.
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Alex Stepney scored 24 points as Will C. Wood High School’s boys basketball team overcame a rough start and pulled away for a 76-53 victory over El Camino of Sacramento at the Les Curry tournament in Davis on Friday.
The Wildcats (7-2) trailed 21-10 late in the first period, but managed to take a 36-30 lead by halftime. The Wildcats outscored the Eagles 24-10 in the fourth period to turn the game into a rout.
“We got good looks because of our defense,” Wood head coach Mark Wudel said. “They got up so fast I was thinking, ‘Oh, no!’ but then we scored a few right at the end of the quarter. In the second quarter we played great defense, and then we started to hit our shots.”
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Seven Will C. Wood High School seniors will compete on the East team in the annual East-West all-star football game at Napa’s Memorial Stadium on Dec. 19.
The Wildcat players, who helped lead Wood to its best season ever at 10-2, will be joined by lineman Max Varela of Vacaville, along with two players each from Vanden, Vacaville Christian and Dixon.
Leading the way for Wood is quarterback Marcus Howard, who set school records with 3,389 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes. Howard was the co-Monticello Empire League player of the year.
Also on the team from Wood are running back Damon Lewis, wide receivers Tayvian Cunningham, Kristian Arias and Keith Chester, linebacker Jordan Boyd and defensive end Tharon Cornist.
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Not bad for openers.
Will C. Wood High School’s girls basketball team won three games all last season.
The Wildcats may eclipse that total by next week.
Victoria Lopez scored a game-high 15 points as Wood officially opened its season on Tuesday night with a 46-29 victory over visiting Center at Frank Molina Gymnasium.
“Overall, it was pretty good. We’re excited,” head coach Bob Fernandez said. “Obviously we had a foundation scrimmage (on Monday), but for some this was their first time out, at least at this level. We did pretty well.”
Wood never trailed, and took control for good by scoring 11 straight points during a four-minute stretch in the first quarter.
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A one-quarter hiccup certainly was better than a four-period defeat.
While three local high school football teams fell out of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs on Friday night, Will C. Wood lived up to its high-scoring reputation … after least after the first nine minutes.
The Wildcats fell behind by two touchdowns before a 35-point second-quarter barrage paved the way for a 59-33 Division II victory over American Canyon.
No. 4 seeded Wood improved to 10-1 overall, the first time in school history a Wildcat squad has won 10 games in a season. Wood has a chance to improve on that mark next week when it hosts No. 5 Del Oro, which defeated Whitney 34-28.
In other playoff games, Christian Brothers of Sacramento edged Vanden 27-26, Liberty Ranch of Galt downed Dixon 45-22, and Gustine outscored Rio Vista 70-54.
Wood 59, American Canyon 33 >> The Wolves jumped out to a 13-0 lead less than nine minutes into the contest before the Wildcats took over.
Wood finally scored on a 10-yard pass play from Marcus Howard to Arthur Jackson with five seconds left in the first quarter. Howard added a 2-point conversion pass to Jackson, just the beginning of a three-minute barrage that yielded 28 points and put Wood comfortably in front for good.
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To the runner-up goes the spoils.
Monticello Empire League football coaches had a hard time ignoring Will C. Wood High School’s success this season. That became evident when they voted for the all-MEL teams on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats landed a league-high 10 players on the first team, one more than MEL champion Napa’s nine.
Included in the haul were two of the league’s top honors. Wood quarterback Marcus Howard shared the MEL’s player of the year award with Napa QB-defensive back Cal Bard. Wildcat running back Damon Lewis was named the league’s back of the year.
“We had a really good season. Obviously, we’re very happy that the other coaches ended up recognizing that,” Wood head coach Carlos Meraz said. “Marcus did a great job, and Damon is absolutely the heart of the team. We’re a passing team, but for him to still get back of the year says quite a bit.”
Third-place Vacaville had four first-team picks, and seven second-team choices. All four first-teamers are juniors … running back Daniel Wright, defensive lineman Zach Myers, linebacker Jacob Abramowicz, and defensive back Tyler Cordell.
“You always hope you can get a couple more, but the future looks very bright,” Vacaville head coach Mike Papadopoulos said. “A lot of kids got some very significant playing time, and that should pay off in the future.”
The future is now for the Wildcats.
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