MISSION VIEJO – Trabuco Hills continued to play its best when it mattered most Friday.
The Mustangs used three touchdown passes from quarterback Jimmy Jacobs and eight sacks to sprint past visiting Buena Park, 38-7, in the CIF Southwest Division semifinals to reach their first final since 2009.
Linebacker Blake Cuzzupoli racked up three of the sacks as Trabuco Hills (9-4) won for the ninth time in its past 11 games under first-year coach Tony Henney. The losses in the stretch were a one-pointer against El Toro and a seven-point defeat to San Clemente, decided by a few inches in the final seconds.
Trabuco Hills will get another chance at San Clemente in the Southwest Division final this Friday at a site to be announced. The Tritons edged Capistrano Valley, 28-27, in overtime in the other semifinal but the Mustangs are rolling, too.
“We’re definitely peaking at the exact right time,” said Cuzzupoli, who helped the Mustangs defeat Corona del Mar – a three-time defending CIF champion – in the second round.
“This is definitely the time to be playing perfect football. We’re pretty close (to) playing perfect football right now.”
Trabuco Hills lost its first two games but after a heart-to-heart talk following a lopsided loss to La Costa Canyon on Sept. 5, coaches and players started improving, Henney said. On Friday, the Mustangs went 3 for 3 on fourth downs and rolled despite losing their top two running backs to injuries.
“We’re just getting better,” Henney said. “We had to fix a lot of things. … I think that we coached better. We learned our kids a little bit through our adversity. And we hustled better.”
Buena Park (11-2) entered averaging just more than 40 points a game but the Mustangs pressured dual-threat quarterback Zach Taylor and contained wide receiver Jaylinn Hawkins. Taylor finished with 72 yards passing and 31 yards rushing while Hawkins had seven receptions for 15 yards.
The Mustangs held Buena Park — making its first semifinal appearance since 2001 — to 137 yards.
Trabuco Hills’ defensive line received sacks from Austin Fine, Joey Nationiewski and Zach Minich while linebacker Scott Kruger and rising sophomore Colin Schooler each added one sack. Fine also had an interception.
“They did a great job keeping pressure on Zach Taylor, (which) limited our ability to get the ball to our playmakers,” Buena Park coach Anthony White said. “They’re a physical team.”
Jacobs completed 11 of 15 passes for 209 yards, including touchdowns of 29 and 7 yards to Jake Breeland, an Oregon commit. Breeland finished with six receptions for 111 yards.
Breeland caught his 29-yard TD to give the Mustangs a 24-7 lead in the third and Schooler added a 44-yard TD reception on a screen pass early in the fourth quarter after Fine grabbed a deflection for an interception.
Schooler busted through multiple tacklers en route to the end zone.
“He’s a super sophomore,” Cuzzupoli said. “He’s playing at a high level.”
Breeland capped the scoring by hauling in a fade for a 7-yard TD on fourth-and-3 with 2:20 left in the fourth.
Trabuco Hills led, 17-7, at halftime on the strength of three scoring drives, including two that featured key fourth-down conversions.
Starting running back Chad Crosbie scored on a 15-yard TD run on fourth-and-inches as the Mustangs opened a 6-0 lead with 8:05 left in the first quarter. Cuzzupoli added the extra point for a short, 34-yard drive aided a slick, 23-yard punt return by Noah Thompson.
Crosbie, a 1,000-yard rusher, later left for precautionary reasons, Henney said.
Buena Park responded with an 80-yard scoring to knot the score, 7-7, in the first quarter. Taylor scored on an 18-yard run, sprinting past a block from Hawkins. The Coyotes capitalized on roughing the punter and late hit penalties on the drive but didn’t score again.
Middle linebacker Kevin McKinney helped anchor Trabuco Hills’ defense while cornerbacks Bret Bohan and Jayden Price also played well.
“We were a little worried about their receivers. They’re athletes,” Cuzzupoli said of Buena Park. “But we played as a team. … Our DL has been big all year.”
Trabuco Hills took a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter as Thompson capped a 47-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run on a direct snap on third-and-goal.
The Mustangs added a 36-yard field goal before halftime by Cuzzupoli, which came after Jacobs connected with Thompson for a 31-yard gain on a fourth-and-3.
Buena Park collected three sacks, including one by another rising sophomore, Cedric Dashiell II, who finished the season with 18.5.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
