Mission Viejo Has Too Much Firepower for La Quinta, 47-21

Mission Viejo’s football team wasted little time in putting last Saturday’s loss in their rearview mirror and speeding through an outmanned opponent in rapid fashion.

The Diablos scored 34 points in their first 11 offensive plays then cruised through the second half en route to a convincing 47-21 triumph over La Quinta of the Coachella Valley Friday night in a nonleague contest at Mission Viejo High.

The Diablos (2-1) took advantage of some early mistakes by the Blackhawks (0-2) in the first half, and behind their massive offensive line were able to score practically at will through the opening 16 minutes. The Diablos scored seven touchdowns overall on scoring drives of four, one, one, two, three, eight and one plays.

Senior running back Jahleel Pinner scored touchdowns of 1, 10 and 35 yards on three consecutive carries. Pinner played only the first half and finished with 75 yards in seven carries.

Senior quarterback Alex Bridgford barely broke a sweat before he was replaced after the first series of the third quarter. His first pass went to senior receiver D.J. Wilson for a 64-yard touchdown, and Bridgford finished 9 of 15 for 213 yards and no interceptions. Wilson caught six passes for 174 yards, a 29-yard average.

All of which helped Mission Viejo forget last week’s stinging loss 3,000 miles away in New Jersey to Don Bosco Prep, the No. 1-ranked high school football team in the nation. The Diablos remain the No. 2 team in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division behind Servite.

“We had too much for them, that’s for sure,” Diablos coach Bob Johnson said of La Quinta. “It was a nice win. Last week’s loss was to a team that is going to be very successful this year. It’s almost a lost week when you get back from a trip like that. We’re still recovering. Going all the way across the country is tough, but I’m proud of our guys. The staff did a great job getting them ready.”

The Diablos certainly didn’t appear jet-lagged, and the Blackhawks certainly didn’t help themselves in the first half.

On the game’s second play, Mission Viejo senior defensive back Doug Ruggles forced a fumble, which was recovered by Jackson Stoddard on the La Quinta 21. Four rushes by Pinner made it 7-0. On the Blackhawks' second possession, senior linebacker Ryan Harris (eight tackles) blocked Jake Roubadu’s punt and senior Colin Dzubnar recovered the ball on the 10-yard line. On the next play, Pinner scored untouched for a 13-0 lead as the kick failed.

La Quinta put together a nine-play drive on its next possession, but on fourth-and-one, linebacker West Hartmann stopped Jon Mason for no gain. The Diablos took over and on the first play Bridgford found Wilson alone down the sidelines for a 64-yard touchdown and a 20-0 advantage after Zach Christensen’s extra-point kick.

A La Quinta punt was returned 45 yard by Austin Reuland to the Blackhawks' 35 to close the first quarter, and two plays later Pinner rumbled into the end zone for another score. On its next possession, La Quinta again was forced to punt and the Diablos went 42 yards in three plays, with Pinner going 35 yards for the touchdown after a 24-yard pass from Bridgford to Wilson for a 34-0 halftime advantage.

Mission Viejo extended its lead to 41-0 on its first possession of the second half with its longest drive of the evening (eight plays), culminating with a 40-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Marcus Collins (seven carries, 59 yards).

The Blackhawks made the score respectable in the second half behind the running of senior Brendon Burrell, who rushed 23 times for 130 yards and one touchdown, and quarterback Taylor Pope, who ran eight yards for one touchdown and passed four yards to Johan Velez for another. But that came against the Diablos’ second- and third-team players, many of whom have little varsity experience.

“We had a lot of guys hurt going into this game,” Johnson said. “We played with a lot of newcomers. I’m very proud of those kids. And our other guys stepped it up.”

Collins finished the Diablos scoring with a 56-yard run with 5:54 left in the game.

Next Friday, the Diablos will host undefeated Long Beach Poly (7:30 p.m.), and Johnson said he expects to get another stern test from the talented Jackrabbits.

“We’re use to them,” he said. “We’ve played them six times over the last six or seven years and they’re always tough games.”

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