Eagles 20 - Mission Viejo 0
Game won by forfeit
MISSION VIEJO, CA., August 24, 2018 – In one of the premier matchups between two of orange counties best programs, it was Mission Viejo who came out on top by a score of 30-20. The Eagles defense which was anchored by senior linebacker Connor Burke, managed to keep the Diablo run game to less than 100 yards, but gave up 350 yards through the air. Eagle quarterback sophomore Peter Costelli struggled in just his second career varsity start, completing 9 of 27 passes for 186 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. On the receiving end of that touchdown was sophomore tight end Gary Morrison, who walked into the end zone untouched from 32 yards out for his first career varsity touchdown. Junior wideout Chase Nenad finished his night with three catches for 65 yards with a long of 43, and senior running back Jake Thomas was active out of the backfield, catching four passes for 67 yards. Thomas was a workhorse out of the backfield, rushing 23 times for 71 hard-fought yards and two touchdowns.
Not to be fooled by the scoreboard, the Eagle defense was solid all night, holding the Diablos to three field goals in the red zone. The Eagles had sacks by Martin Hartigan and Burke, while junior Logan Schwenke had three tackles-for-loss. Tackle leaders for the Eagles were Burke (10), Blake Bianchini (9), Corey Hernandez (9), Matt Lynch (8) and Hartigan (8).
Next up for the Eagles will be Colorado’s #2 ranked Cherry Creek (1-0) tonight at Trabuco Hills with kickoff scheduled for 7:00pm. The Bruins are coming off of a 56-7 win over Doherty High School. Cherry Creek is a nine-time Colorado State Champion, most recently back in 2014. The Eagles have played out-of-state opponents just six times and are 3-2 in such games, with four of five of those being on the road.
| Mission Viejo | 3 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 30 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
MV – Widner 17 FG
MV – Forest 30 pass from Yellen (Widner kick)
MV – Widner 25 FG
SM – Thomas 6 run (Boccuzzi kick failed)
MV – Arnold 3 pass from (Widner kick)
SM – Thomas 1 run (Boccuzzi kick)
MV – Ferrell 2 run (Widner kick)
SM – Morrison 32 pass from Costelli (Boccuzzi kick)
MV – Widner 40 FG
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: MV - Ferrell 21-78; SM - Thomas 23-71, Costelli 3-51, Ebach 5-29
Passing: MV - Yellen 32-45-0-367; SM - Costelli 9-27-4-186
Receiving: MV - Arnold 10-104, Forest 5-95; Thomas 4-67, Nenad 3-65
Sean Zeitler
Sports Information Director
Mission Viejo football has to forfeit four wins for using ineligible player
Mission Viejo football has forfeited its first four wins of the season for using an ineligible player, the school announced Monday afternoon.
The forfeited wins were nonleague games against Santa Margarita, La Habra, Villa Park and Liberty of Bakersfield. The ineligible player, who was not identified by the school, did not play in the Diablos’ wins against Upland and Orange Lutheran.
Mission Viejo now is 4-4 overall and 2-0 in the South Coast League. It has two league games, against San Clemente and Tesoro, left in the regular season.
To qualify for the CIF-Southern Section playoffs, Mission Viejo must finish among the top two teams in the final standings in the five-team South Coast League. The Diablos would need a .500-or-better overall record to be eligible for at-large berth consideration if they do not finish among the league’s top two teams.
Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson referred questions about the forfeits to the school’s administration.
Mission Viejo High School principal Tricia Osborne’s statement: “On Friday afternoon, MVHS administration discovered that the football team had inadvertently played an ineligible player during the first four games of the 2018-2019 season. After investigating, it was discovered that due to an error in paperwork submission, the player in question, was in fact, not eligible. MVHS immediately contacted (the CIF-Southern Section) to self-report the error on Friday, October 5th. Per CIF guidelines, the school will forfeit the four games that the ineligible athlete participated in.”
Osborne’s statement concluded by noting “The player in question is (a Saddleback Valley Unified School District) student, not a transfer from another district. We are committed to abiding by all rules and regulations and are analyzing our current protocols to ensure this type of error does not happen again.”
By Steve Fryer
October 8, 2018
The Orange County Register
Mission Viejo football tops Santa Margarita with big efforts from Yellen, Arnold
MISSION VIEJO – Between quarterback Joey Yellen, his corps of talented receivers and Akilli Arnold, a playmaker on both sides of the ball, Mission Viejo had too much for Santa Margarita to deal with in Friday’s nonleague contest that featured two of the county’s top-ranked teams.
While the No. 5 Eagles were a game opponent and never stopped attacking, the No. 4 Diablos, led by Yellen’s 371 yards passing, were ahead the entire way and earned a 30-20 victory at Mission Viejo High.
“They battled,” Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson said. “We talked all week long about being accountable, knowing your job … do your job to the best of your ability. Worry about yourself and no one else.”
Mission Viejo improved to 2-0. The victory was the third in a row for the Diablos over the Eagles (1-1). The CIF-SS Division 1 teams could meet again in the playoffs.
Arnold had three interceptions, one which he returned 69 yards for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back for holding. He also had a 60-yard interception return called back for holding.
The 6-foot senior was also Yellen’s favorite target, finishing with 11 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.
“Our O-line did a lot better than we did last week,” Arnold said. “We still had a lot of penalties. I think we played a lot better than last week because we had a game under our wings.”
Yelllen’s second favorite target was Jojo Forest, who had five catches for 94 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown that gave the Diablos a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.
The Diablos held Santa Margarita to just 18 yards in the first quarter and three first downs until late in the second quarter.
After a scoreless third quarter the Diablos were still leading 27-13 in the fourth when Santa Margarita quarterback Peter Costelli connected with Garry Morrison for a 32-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-20.
The Diablos responded with a 40-yard field goal from Dylan Widner, his third field goal of the game.
Mission Viejo committed 12 penalties for 115 yards.
By Lou Ponsi
Friday, August 24, 2018
The Orange County Register
