Mission Viejo 28 - Eagles 23
MISSION VIEJO, CA., September 22, 2017 – The battle between Mission Viejo and Santa Margarita of Rancho Santa Margarita turned into a tale of two halves.
Helped by stifling defense and a resurgent running game in the second half, the Diablos rallied from a 17-14 halftime deficit to defeat the crosstown-rival Eagles, 28-23, in a non-league game on Friday night at Trabuco Hills High of Mission Viejo.
Santa Margarita dominated the run game in the first half with over 250 rushing yards to Mission Viejo’s 22 yards on the ground. But in the second half, the Diablos took control of the line of scrimmage, milked the clock and rushed for over 150 yards, while grounding the Eagles to only 40 yards.
“We thought we didn’t go to the run game enough in the first half,” Mission coach Bob Johnson said. “We worked on it hard in the second half and the kids really came through.”
It was a physical, heavyweight slugfest that neither opponent would back down from. From the opening kickoff, Mission Viejo wasted no time. On the second play of the possession, junior QB Joey Yellen threw a bubble screen to senior wide receiver Olaijah Griffin, who sprinted 66 yards to the Eagles’ 13. Two plays later, junior RB Akili Arnold ran a sweep for 6 yards into the end zone and Mission Viejo led 7-0.
After throwing a interception on the Eagles’ first possession, senior QB Josiah Norwood took matters into his own hands with a dazzling 81-yard TD run that stunned the Diablos and tied the game, 7-7.
Senior RB Malone Mataele added a 3-yard TD run out of the Wildcat formation and senior kicker Dylan Brady hit a 19-yard field goal later to give the Eagles a 17-14 halftime lead.
But in the second half, after a Santa Margarita three-and-out, Mission Viejo senior RB Chris Mitchell capped off a 70-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run to reclaim the lead for the Diablos at 21-17. The drive took 5 minutes off the clock and kept Santa Margarita’s offense on the sideline.
After a 12-play drive stalled at Mission Viejo’s 37, the Eagles chose to punt instead of attempt a long field goal, but it was shanked out of bounds after only a 5-yard gain and Mission Viejo took over at its own 32 with 2:28 left in the third quarter. A few plays later, on fourth-and-1 from the Mission Viejo’s, the Diablos went for it and Mission handed off to Arnold, who appeared to be stopped short; but the officials awarded Mission Viejo the first down to a chorus of boos from the Santa Margarita fans. Five plays later, Yellen threw a 28-yard dart to Griffin in the end zone and Mission Viejo led 28-17 with 10:40 left.
After a failed fourth-and-6 attempt, the Eagles got the ball back with 4:18 left and drove 89 yards in 2 minutes. Norwood scrambled and hit Mataele for 24 yards and capped off the drive with a nasty 7-yard TD, dragging defenders to the end zone that cut Mission’s lead to 28-23 with 2:09 left in the game. But an onside kick failed and Mission ran the clock out to seal the win.
“I love the way they battled,” Santa Margarita Coach Rich Fisher said. “We were in it all the way to the end, but that’s not good enough. Our inability to run the ball in the second half and their ability to run the ball in the second half was the difference in the game. We didn’t get a stop when we needed. It’s unfortunate, but when you play a team like Mission – and we’re going to face it down the road in our league – you gotta be able to stop two-back football; hopefully, we’ll come out on top next time.”
| Mission Viejo | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
MV – Arnold 6 run (Widner kick)
SM – Norwood 81 run (Brady kick)
SM – Mataele 3 run (Brady kick)
MV – Arnold 12 pass from Yellen (Widner kick)
SM – Brady 19 FG
MV – Mitchell 1 run (Widner kick)
MV – Griffin 28 pass from Yellen (Widner kick)
SM – Norwood 7 run (Norwood pass failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: MV - Arnold 20-124, Mitchel 11-51; SM - Norwood 17-162, Magyar 19-112
Passing: MV - Yellen 9-17-0-192; Norwood - 11-19-1-89
Receiving: MV - Griffin 6-143; SM - Magyar 4-23, Mataele 3-33
Ed Norwood
SoCal Sidelines
Mission Viejo’s persistence pays off against Santa Margarita
MISSION VIEJO – Mission Viejo used a persistent and productive running attack in the second half to beat Santa Margarita, 28-23, Friday in a nonleague game between two Orange County top-10 teams at Trabuco Hills High.
The Diablos rushed for 154 of their 176 game-total rushing yards in the second half as they remained undefeated at 5-0 and handed Santa Margarita (4-1) its first loss.
On their first possession of the second half, they traveled 79 yards on 10 plays, nine of them running plays. The ninth run was a 1-yard touchdown dive by Chris Mitchell that put Mission Viejo on top, 21-17, for good.
Missio Viejo’s Akili Arnold rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Akili, who also had a touchdown reception, got 92 of his rushing yards in the second half.
Mitchell had one first-half carry for minus-2 yards, then in the second half had 12 carries for 62 yards.
Two Santa Margarita players surpassed 100 yards rushing. Chad Magyar, who has been among Orange County rushing leaders all season, rushed for 139 yards on 22 carries. Eagles quarterback Josiah Norwood rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard touchdown run, on 16 carries.
Santa Margarita had a 17-14 lead at halftime. The Eagles were shut out through the second half until Norwood’s 7-yard touchdown run with 2:09 left in the fourth quarter.
Mission Viejo, No. 2 in the Orange County media poll top 25, is 5-0. The Diablos play El Toro at home next Friday in their final 2017 nonleague game. Mission Viejo is No. 5 in CIF-Southern Section Division 1 and is No. 4 in the California rankings compiled by CalHiSports.com.
Santa Margarita, No. 4 in O.C., No. 8 in the state and No. 16 in USA Today’s national computer rankings, lost its first game and is 4-1. The Eagles have a bye next week before opening Trinity League play with a home game against national No. 1 Mater Dei at Laguna Hills High on Oct. 6.
After Mitchell’s 1-yard touchdown run gave Mission Viejo the 21-17 lead, Diablos quarterback Joey Yellen laced a 28-yard touchdown pass to Olaijah Griffin for a 28-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Mission Viejo took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by Arnold. Norwood’s 81-yard scoring run tied it in the first quarter. The Eagles went ahead, 14-7 on a direct-snap, wildcat touchdown run of 3 yards by Malone Mataele.
Yellen and Arnold connected on an 11-yard touchdown pass to tie it, 14-14, in the second quarter. Santa Margarita regained the lead with 1:09 left in the second quarter on a 19-yard field goal by Dylan Brady.
By Steve Fryer
Friday, September 22, 2017
The Orange County Register
