LOWER LAKE >> Hokulani Wickard’s debut at quarterback was a successful one for the Lower Lake Trojans as they rallied from a 14-7 first-half deficit to beat the El Molino Lions 21-14 on Friday night at Gordon Sadler Field in Lower Lake.
Wickard, a sophomore, completed 23 of 26 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns, all of them to Marlon Jones, as the Trojans (1-0) sent the Lions (0-2) to their second straight loss to open the 2015 campaign.
“We had to face adversity right off the bat, so to battle as a team and as a young team is something I’m proud of,” Lower Lake coach Justin Gaddy said.
Wickard also led the Trojans with 62 rushing yards on six carries. Jones, who had nine catches for 45 yards, and Kono Geary, who had 10 for 95 yards, were his favorite downfield targets.
Jones scores on passes of 1 and 9 yards in the second quarter and his 2-yard TD grab in the third quarter put the Trojans ahead to stay. Wickard passed to Isaiah Klein for the two-point conversion.
El Molino led 6-0 after one quarter and 14-13 at halftime.
Wickard also kicked an extra point following the Trojans’ first score.
