SAN CLEMENTE – Tesoro raised its profile and expectations.
The Titans walloped San Clemente, 59-38, Thursday at San Clemente High in the final nonleague game for both.
Tesoro, ranked No. 6 in Orange County, will take a 5-1 overall record into South Coast League play next week. The Titans play at El Toro on Friday in the South Coast League opener for both teams.
They could be considered the league favorite, a designation that usually belongs to Mission Viejo. Mission Viejo, ranked No. 8 in the county, takes a 3-2 record into its game Friday against Chaparral of Temecula.
Tesoro junior quarterback Devon Modster threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score. He completed 18 of 30 passes for 246 yards without an interception.
Jake Smeltzer caught two touchdown passes and had 123 receiving yards. Anthony Battista rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
Tesoro, No. 1 in the CIF-Southern Section West Valley Division poll, led throughout the game.
San Clemente lost for the first time this year. The Tritons (5-1) are No. 1 in the Southwest Division and No. 10 in Orange County. They play host to Capistrano Valley next week in a Sea View League opener.
San Clemente quarterback Sam Darnold completed 14 of 24 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns but had an unusually tough time. The Titans defense harassed him frequently, with Jamie Pierson sacking him three times. Josh Nelson intercepted a Darnold pass. Vlad Dzhabiyev rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns for San Clemente.
Consistently good field position, whether off of excellent kickoff returns or turnovers, helped Tesoro score plenty of points.
Modster’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Tristan Kafentzis started the scoring and gave the Titans a 7-0 lead. A punt return got Tesoro the ball at the 50 on that first possession.
Modster’s second touchdown pass, this one of 14 yards to Spencer Heinhuis, gave the Titans a 14-0 advantage. They made it 17-0 on a 33-yard field goal by Justin Matlin.
San Clemente got on the scoreboard via a 40-yard field goal by Chase Berman on the final snap of the first quarter. The Tritons made it 17-10 when Riley Whimpey returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown.
Tesoro took another 14-point lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Anthony Battista with 6:17 left in the second quarter.
San Clemente again pulled within seven points, 24-17, when Darnold found Dzhabiyev on a middle-screen pass for a 30-yard touchdown with 5:30 left in the opening half. Another long kickoff return by Smeltzer enabled Tesoro to start at the San Clemente 36-yard line. Battista ran 22 yards for a first down and followed with a 14-yard touchdown run and the Tesoro lead was 31-17.
San Clemente cut its deficit to seven points again, on a 12-yard touchdown run by Dzhabiyev with 1:04 remaining.
Another big kickoff return by Smeltzer got Tesoro started at the San Clemente 35. A pass interference penalty on the Tritons, a 14-yad completion from Modster to Matt Adams led to Modster’s 4-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw with 19 seconds remaining in the half to create the 38-24 halftime score.
Tesoro played without leading receiver Carter Jaenichen. Jaenichen, with 22 receptions for four touchdowns through five games, was out because of a concussion.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
