With a sprint down the sideline, Woodland shocks River City in thrilling comeback

With his Woodland football team trailing River City 15-6 at halftime, Dane Gallagher needed to speak up Friday night.

As time waned before kickoff, the Woodalnd defensive coordinator called his players into the end zone. The Wolves took a knee and listened to a short, impassioned speech from Gallagher. “There are no guarantees. You’re not guaranteed another game. All you’ve got is 24 minutes,” Gallagher told his team.

When the speech finished, the coach spun on his heels and went on a dead sprint down the sideline. The Wolves charged after him and, eventually, they ran right past River City for a thrilling 18-15 win in West Sacramento.

River City led 15-12 with 50.7 seconds left. A 62-yard punt from Aiden Vigil pinned Woodland down at its own 21-yard line. On third and 4 on the 27-yard line, Woodland receiver Alberto Estrella knew he had to get open.

No problem.

The senior receiver streaked down the left sideline, getting a step or two on his defender and hauling in a long in-stride pass from quarterback Santana Munoz. Estrella flew into the end zone for the 18-15 margin with 30.5 seconds remaining.

“The QB told me ‘I’m gonna hit you on this one,’ so I had to get off my man right away,” Estrella said. “I just ran my butt off.”

Running is his specialty. A converted soccer player in his first year playing football, Estrella showed the ability to get open all night. After the game, his teammates yelled for him to get a Division I scholarship. A lineman picked Estrella up and cradled him in his arms as they posed for a picture.

Woodland coach Javier Marin was clearly beaming under his mask as he talked about what the win meant to his seniors, many of whom juggle work schedules in order to play with the Wolves.

“Not only that, but for the underclassmen to overcome that hump to get that first win,” Marin said. “It’s so tough because going 0-2 into a very competitive River City game, the odds were stacked against them. ...

“Just a dogfight on both ends. I’m just excited we were able to come out and match up with a very physical team.”

Woodland had plenty of physical play, led by do-all Jonathan Thompson. The junior plugged holes as a linebacker. He filled in at quarterback when Munoz was injured. Mostly, the large young man played bulldozer as a running back. He plowed through the offensive line and dragged Raiders defenders down the field with him as he racked up 87 rushing yards and a touchdown.

“Our tank, man, he’s our tank,” Estrella said. “He did everything for us. He carried us to first downs.”

River City coach Gabe Jimenez just shook his head. The Raiders were gassed at the end of a long spring break week. River City blew open a 15-6 lead in the first quarter when quarterback Vigil hit J.D. Wright over the middle for a 26-yard touchdown. Then the Raiders were stymied by a fired-up Woodland defense and River City’s own mistakes.

As the game wound on, the River City defense was simply on the field too long, Jimenez said.

“They played a hell of a ballgame. They came to play, they scouted us well,” Jimenez said. “They’ve got a great coaching staff over there. That’s what happens when we play Woodland, that’s why I love playing them.”

Woodland seemed to enjoy the matchup as well. With his teammates hooting around him, Estrella said his first and last season playing football will be memorable, if nothing else.

“My first season, I was expecting it to be a little longer. I don’t know if we’re going to have our final two games but that made it worth it,” he said.

This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 6:40 AM.