MISSION VIEJO – It wasn’t pretty, but no one associated with the Mission Viejo football team will throw the victory away.
The eighth-ranked Diablos (3-2) had to hold off a determined Redondo Union (1-4) team and at times, were forced to overcome their own mistakes, before finally pulling out the 19-5 victory Friday.
“We shot ourselves in the foot way too many times,” Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson said. “But we’ll be fine. We had a couple of bad decisions, some bad breaks … we’ll look at it on film, but we’ll be fine.”
The game hung in the balance entering the third quarter, before the Diablos created some distance with Cody Sibert’s 18-yard field goal for a 12-5 lead.
With 2:30 left in the game Isaiah Miller wrapped things up with his 23-yard touchdown run. Miller, who didn’t have a carry until the fourth quarter finished with 68 yards on six carries. Jordan Loya was one of the bright spots on offense, rushing for 135 yards on 19 carries.
The game had an ominous start for the Diablos. On the first play, Abrae Booker-Currin was tackled in the end zone for a safety. Later, the Diablos’ second possession ended on an interception in the end zone from the Redondo 10.
In the second quarter, the Diablos scored their own safety and later Brock Johnson hooked up with Connor Hill for a 16-yard touchdown and a 9-2 lead.
The Diablos’ defense made things difficult for Redondo in the second half, allowing just a field goal. The defense also recorded five sacks in the second half.
Mission Viejo will host Chaparral of Temecula next week. Since losing their first two games of the season, the Diablos have three straight wins.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
