MISSION VIEJO – With Capistrano Valley trailing by a point with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, quarterback Kevin Brown made a split-second decision, just as he had on the previous series that led to a fumble and turnover.
This time, it was a decision that won the game for the Cougars.
Brown kept the ball on a near-identical read-option play up the middle, darting through Laguna Hills’ defense for a 29-yard touchdown and the lead.
It was the winning touchdown in the Cougars’ comeback 32-21 Sea View League win over the Hawks at Capistrano Valley High Friday.
“He (Brown) stepped up to that challenge,” Capistrano Valley coach Ernie Bucher said. “He did what we knew he could do all season long and he just took control and he led the offense and it was fantastic.”
Capistrano Valley (5-3, 1-1) was sluggish on offense to start the game. Twice the Cougars began series with field position inside Laguna Hills’ 40-yard line, but capitalized on neither. A bad snap led to a failed field-goal attempt, and a series later the Cougars fumbled the ball away 2 yards short of the goal line.
Capistrano Valley had a 70-yard, second-quarter drive ended when Laguna Hills safety Logan Montgomery intercepted a pass and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown with seconds remaining in the half. The score gave the Hawks (5-2, 1-1) a 14-0 lead at halftime.
The Cougars scored seven minutes into the third quarter on a 5-yard pass from Brown to Mitchell Nickovich, cutting that lead in half. Laguna Hills’ Mitchell O’Hair responded with a 57-yard TD pass to Sam Warren minutes later, padding the Hawks’ lead to 21-7.
Tyler Waggoner rushed for an 11-yard touchdown on the next series to put the Cougars within a point.
Waggoner carried the brunt of the Cougars’ persistent ground attack, rushing for 217 yards on 34 carries. Brown completed 15 of 28 passes for 166 yards, and ran for 88.
O’Hair threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
