Fallbrook Girls HS team got past one of their more difficult opponents in Southern California this past weekend, defeating ICEF 51-19.

It was a classic game of two halves, with Fallbrook winning the first half, and ICEF the second, but Fallbrook’s control of the first 35 minutes was total.

The game was intense, and played at a high pace as both teams like to move the ball and run. Fallbrook challenged ICEF at the breakdown, and that game the defending national champs some room to run on the outside - scoring three tries in the backs.

The forwards, led by Michel Navarro, who was superb in doing the rough work in the rucks and on defense, finally for on the scoreboard and ran some nice structured attacking moves. Fallbrook led 41-0 at halftime.

In the second half, ICEF got into more of a rhythm, and Fallbrook, subbing on a few players, lot some of theirs. ICEF scored three tries to win that second half 19-10. 

“Fallbrook dominated so completely the first half that we couldn't pull it back,” said ICEF Coach Stu Krohn. “It was our first 15s outing of the season and it came against the number one team in the country. I was proud of our second half performance and we'll look to build on it. It doesn't get any easier with South Bay in two weeks.”

“We obviously have a lot to work on and strengths and weaknesses were shown up which is exactly what we need to continue to improve,” added Fallbrook Coach Craig Pinnell. 

For ICEF, it’s the Las Vegas Invitational and then back to 15s. 

“We have a strong 7s team so we hope to do well,” said Krohn, who also added that the 15s experience in SoCal is a good one. “I’m glad we're in the SoCal conference with the number one team and another top team. We have a strong sophomore group that is playing varsity and they're learning quickly.”

Also on Saturday the Fallbrook U14s played 7s against ICEF, and won 43-0 with Tiahna Padilla playing very well at flyhalf. The U16s also played 7s, and ICEF led 15-5 at halftime before two tries from Kaitlyn Leszczynski sparked a Falbrook comeback and a 29-20 win.