« September 23, 2007 - September 29, 2007 | Varsity Times Insider Home | October 7, 2007 - October 13, 2007 »
The drubbing is official, De La Salle defeats Mission Viejo, 35-7, handing the Diablos their first home loss in eight years.
Mission Viejo scored on its first drive of the game, but that appears to be all it had in the tank.
The Diablos were almost single-handedly taken out on defense by Michael Czyz, who caught three passes for 176 yards, all for touchdowns.
- Dan Arritt
What does Mission Viejo and USC have in common?
Besides Mark Sanchez, Ryan Powdrell and Drew Radovich, both teams are proving to be heavily overrated this season.
Mission Viejo keeps shooting itself in the foot with offensive miscues and blown defensive assignments and trails De La Salle, 21-7, at the half.
That wouldn't be so bad, considering DLS is ranked third in state, but the Diablos are coming off an embarrassing 26-14 loss to Vista two weeks ago, a team they hammered, 31-0, a year ago. They've also had an extra week to prepare for this game.
DLS receiver Michael Czyz, all 5-8 of him, scorched Mission Viejo for his second long touchdown of the game, an 85-yarder off a slant. He beat Mission Viejo defensive back Alex Mascarenas to the middle and, with no safety help, was able to outrun the defense to give the Spartans their 21-7 haltime lead.
Mission Viejo twice moved into scoring position in the second quarter, but quarterback Allen Bridgford had a pass intercepted in the end zone to end the first threat. The Diablos then drove inside the DLS 10-yard line, but a holding penalty, a snuffed reverse and a sack moved the ball back to the 35, where Mission Viejo punted.
Let's see if Mission Viejo Coach Bob Johnson lit a fire under the Diablos at halftime.
Oh, never mind, Czyz just scored on another long pass.
- Dan Arritt
Just may be in the Northern League.
Crack all you want about it being an "Invitational" league. The Northern gang is the only league where all six teams are sporting above .500 records. Belmont and Eagle Rock are 5-0; Franklin and Lincoln are 4-1; Marshall and Wilson are 3-2.
Belmont and Eagle Rock will open league play against each other on Friday. Along with the possibility of a great game, the loser will have time to recover and still have a chance to win or tie for the league title. It's doubtful any team will go through the league undefeated.
Among the big City dudes, the Marine League race, on the surface, will be the most intriguing.
Banning, Narbonne and San Pedro are all 5-0, but I wouldn't automatically grant them the three league playoff slots. Carson, after a slow start, seems to be awakening. Washington isn't expected to win the league, but the Generals have averaged almost 24 points a game in their five nonleague contests. Meaning they have the offensive capability to unexpectedly mess up one of the other contender's plans.
All league races are meaningful and worth watching. But the Northern and Marine leagues start out with the best story lines.
- Mike Terry
Despite the talk of Disneyland around me, it's obvious De La Salle didn't come here to ride Space Mountain.
The Spartans scored on both first-quarter possessions and lead, 14-7, heading into the second.
The Diablos also came out with an effective offensive plan, moving the ball 80 yards in six plays and scoring on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Allen Bridgford to tight end Corbin Davis, the one Arlene Baca bragged about before the game. The touchdown came on fourth and one and was a play Mission Viejo Coach Bob Johnson has been running for years. Fake dive right, Y corner.
Bridgford was three for three on the opening drive for 58 yards.
Unfortunately, the Diablos couldn't stop DLS on fourth and goal from the one, and the Spartans tied the score, 7-7, when the DLS running back went up and over the pile.
Mission Viejo dug itself out of bad field position before punting on its second drive. DLS was facing a third and 15 from near midfield, but the Spartans burned Mission Viejo for a 54-yard touchdown pass with 2:37 remaining in the quarter.
I think I can see the neck veins of Mission Viejo Coach Bob Johnson from here.
- Dan Arritt
I found a De La Salle prediction from Brian Matlock, father of injured offensive lineman Andrew Matlock.
"It's going to be a hard-hitting game, but I think De La Salle will win," said Matlock, sporting a De La Salle hat. Told that's not good enough, I want a final score, he paused and said, "28-21."
Kickoff is at 8 p.m. And it's a nationally televised game so plan on this one ending around 11 p.m.
Good thing I know a back way outta here.
- Dan Arritt
I've arrived at my old stomping grounds here at Mission Viejo High, where the Diablos are getting set to take on De La Salle, the state's third-ranked team.
I'm sitting in the De La Salle stands, sporting my Oakland A's cap from my son's T-ball team last year. Just so happens the Spartans and the A's have similar colors.
The guy sitting to my left is a closet Mission Viejo fan who didn't want to sit on the Mission side of the field because of the crowds. I'd expose him but he remembers me from 10 years ago, when our sons played on the same Little League team.
On my right is a guy with sunglasses and a fatique-colored jacket who sat down and began videorecording. He got kinda nervous when I told him he "looked covert" and asked who he was scouting for. He said, "nobody, just a fan." He then hands me a business card for another recruiting service. Just a fan, huh? He didn't even know Mission Viejo offensive lineman Jeff Baca had committed to UCLA. Maybe he's just looking at underclassmen.
Speaking of Baca, I met his ultra-nice parents, Arlene and Justin, at a tailgate party on the way in. I couldn't get a prediction out of either one, but Arlene could have worked for a recruiting service the way she pitched Mission Viejo linebacker/tight end Corbin Davis.
They were about to fire up a state-of-the-art BBQ, but I declined their kind offer for a burger. I can see how Jeff got to be 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds though.
I did get a prediction from Toni Mascarenas, former Garden Grove Pacifica and Arizona softball star. She was tailgating next to the Baca's and confidently announced that Mission Viejo would win, 31-30, and her brother, Mission Viejo defense back Alex Mascarenas, would score a defensive touchdown.
I'll see if I can round up a prediction from a DLS fan, but that'll be tough to beat.
- Dan Arritt
Nothing against the Newbury Park-Westlake game that I blogged from last night, but it must have been something to see QB Marcus Sanchez orchestrate that last-minute, game-winning drive to push Camarillo to a 30-26 comeback victory over Oak Park.
Well, according to Camarillo Coach Dennis Reidmiller, it was certainly special. I know he might be a little biased, but how else can you describe an 84-yard, game-winning TD drive that took only 61 seconds against a defensive-oriented Oak Park squad?
"It was just amazing to see just how well [Sanchez] threw on that last drive," Reidmiller said. "Every pass went right to the receiver. No one else was going to catch those passes or stop us."
Sanchez executed the no-huddle offense perfectly, connecting on five of six passes to get into the end zone fast and win the game. He finished with a school-record 386 yards passing and four TDs. He has passed for more than 1,200 yards and 10 TDs this season.
That's an awesome accomplishment, but Camarillo didn't win last night's game solely on Sanchez's arm.
"Our defense kept bending and bending a little, but it never did break," Reidmiller said. "They had every chance to give up and quit, but they hung in there and battled the whole time."
Another reason why the Scorpions are 3-2 heading into Pacific View League play is their ability to cut down on the turnovers. In their two losses to hard-nosed Marmonte League teams Agoura and Thousand Oaks, the Scorpions had four turnovers. Against Oak Park, they only had one.
"To beat a team like Oak Park certainly says a lot," Reidmiller.
It certainly does. Camarillo is my favorite to win the Pacific View League title, but Oxnard, Hueneme and surging Pacifica are going to make life tough for the Scorpions. Next week's game against Channel Islands will be a cinch, but three consecutive games against Pacifica, Oxnard and rival Rio Mesa isn't going to be easy.
Of course, if they limit the turnovers and get a couple more doses of Friday Night heroics, things will be looking good for the boys just off the 101.
- Austin Knoblauch
For me, Saugus is one of the surprises in the San Fernando Valley/North region, but a 4-1 record against some above-average opponents doesn't come as a shock to Coach Jason Bornn.
"Honestly, we were expecting some pretty big things, especially on the defensive side of the ball where we have 11 seniors playing,” Bornn said. “So I can’t say I’m surprised. These kids have worked tremendously hard … they’ve done everything we’ve asked for and we’re playing at about the level I expected.”
Despite the high level of confidence Bornn has in his players following their 33-0 victory over St. Francis on Friday, he knows the Centurions are capable of more -- and they'll have to respond accordingly once they take the field against an up-and-coming West Ranch team next week.
Bornn's biggest concern is that his offense is "too rush heavy." RB Ryan Zirbel (863 yards, 13 TDs) is probably the best back in the Santa Clarita Valley (and, no, I haven't forgotten about Hart's Delano Howell) and QB Desi Rodriguez is also great on the ground. But Rodriguez and the Saugus passing game hasn't quite reached a suitable level.
"I feel like in order for us to compete at a high level, we have to work on the pass attack more," Bornn said. "It's been tough sometimes ...there are times I'd really like to throw the ball more."
Bornn has been pleased with the play of his defense, but he "won't be comfortable until we reach the playoffs." The Centurions boast a strong defensive corps that seems to get better and better with each game thanks, in part, to the efforts of linebackers Justin and Ryan McKillop, Jacob Gallegos and Nick Green. Against the Golden Knights, the Centurions recorded nine sacks.
So I realize Saugus isn't a perfect football team, but it's progressed a lot quicker than others and it's finally starting to prove it can play with the big boys of the Northern Division. They keep surprising me and I think they'll surprise some other guys before the season's over.
- Austin Knoblauch
Venice Coach Angelo Gasca was standing in the middle of the Gondoliers home field Friday night, staring into space like a man who just saw his home burn down.
Now he must convince his team -- which lost its bid for a perfect season after being upset by visiting Banning, 21-19 -- that its season has not gone up in smoke.
In other years Gasca and the Gondoliers would have been happy with a 4-1 record going into Western League play. But not in 2007. The goals and ambitions were larger than that; an undefeated regular season, a first or second seeding for the playoffs, getting to the City Section Championship Division final, maybe winning it all. And Gasca had no trouble telling that to anyone who would listen.
Most of those goals are still attainable.
Some of it depends whether Gasca and his staff can keep other teams from exploiting the weaknesses that Banning exposed.
The rest depends on how much belief the Gondoliers can restore in themselves that the season did not end when Curtis McNeal was stopped for the two-point conversion that would have tied the score against Banning.
This is the mountain Gasca and Venice must climb.
"All the credit to Banning. They played a great game, they controlled the clock, they beat us up front, they won the game," Gasca said. "But we have to move forward. There is so much to play for. Now we'll find out what we're about.
"We've got five league games coming up. The playoffs are coming up. We're clearly one of the better teams and so are [the Pilots]. I'm not going to hang myself because we lost a nonleague game. But I'm going to get my team together, and make them understand part of life is getting back up and getting back into the fight. That's what we're going to do."
- Mike Terry
West Torrance senior running back Brian Baucham continues to beat up opponents.
He had another big game Friday in a 42-7 victory over visiting North Torrance, rushing for 195 yards, including scoring runs of 25, nine and 11 yards, in 19 carries and also had a 33-yard touchdown reception and a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. These statistics are provided courtesy of the West Torrance coaching staff.
"A typical night for Brian," West Torrance assistant coach Corey Hons said, with a chuckle.
Opponents aren't laughing, because Baucham has registered 200 yards or more in three of the Warriors' five games. He also has had rushing totals of 200, 241 and 278 yards. He has just 81 carries for an average of 16.2 carries a game.
Thanks largely to Baucham, winning is becoming typical of West Torrance (5-0), which went 12-1-1 last season, losing only to Dominguez in the Southern Section Western Division championship game.
If nobody finds a way to stop Baucham, the Warriors should be there again at season's end.
The Warriors, who haven't played the toughest of schedules, are ranked No. 22 in the Southland by The Times, but Baucham, it seems, is doing his best to move them up.
- Lauren Peterson
| Advertisement |
|
|
