Marina Falls to Woodrow Wilson as Bruins Force Key Turnovers (2025)

Huntington Beach – Boswell Field (WHS)

Marina dropped to 1-1 on the young season after running into a sharp Woodrow Wilson squad Friday night, falling 37-14 on the road in Long Beach. The Bruins (2-0) controlled the game from start to finish, riding a balanced attack from quarterback Mack Cooper and a stingy defense that forced key turnovers.

Wilson struck first after a long opening drive, settling for a 26-yard field goal by Thomas Jones. On their next possession, Cooper connected with Jones again — this time for a 9-yard touchdown — to give the Bruins a 10-0 lead.

Marina responded early in the second quarter behind senior quarterback Francis Saporito, who went 3-for-3 on the drive and capped it with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Carson Hunnicutt, cutting the deficit to 10-7. But Wilson immediately answered. After a fumble rolled into the end zone, Kenji Kohagura pounced on it for a Bruins touchdown, and moments later, Cooper found Kohagura again on a 15-yard scoring strike to make it 23-7 at halftime.

Saporito kept Marina alive in the third, hitting Noah Valadez on a 32-yard touchdown to pull the Vikings within 23-14. The defense gave Marina a chance to close the gap, but a red-zone drive stalled, and momentum quickly shifted back to Wilson. Sophomore Jemel Grigsby picked off a pass near his own end zone and raced 93 yards the other way for a backbreaking touchdown.

“It was a crazy moment,” Grigsby said. “We were in Cover 3 and I saw No. 1 was their guy, he was going across and I said I have to go get it. Ball went up and I came down with it, ran my blocks and took it to the house.”

Cooper then put the finishing touches on the win, finding Jones again for a 90-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth. Cooper finished with 224 passing yards and three touchdown passes, while Jones tallied two scores and 99 receiving yards.

Saporito threw for two touchdowns in the loss and connected with both Hunnicutt and Valadez for big plays downfield. Running backs Ben Ramos and Luis Castro also provided sparks on the ground, but the Vikings couldn’t overcome Wilson’s defensive pressure and timely turnovers.

Marina will look to bounce back quickly when they return home to face Sunset League rival Fountain Valley on Thursday, September 4.