REDONDO BEACH – It was a successful homecoming for Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson and road trip for the second-ranked Mission Viejo football team.
Johnson, who graduated from Redondo Union High, watched his team lean heavily on its ground attack and active defense to defeat the Sea Hawks, 35-16, on Friday night.
“For the first time all year, we were hit and miss,” Johnson said. “At times we looked like a million bucks and then we looked like we never played before. That’s nothing to take away from them (Redondo). The score is in our favor and that’s good.”
Johnson noted that his players appeared “tired” as they played their sixth game of the season, which started for them in Hawaii on Aug. 21.
“I’m happy with the score because we need a break right now,” he added. “I told them beforehand, it has been a rough road. We’re undefeated and everybody is going to play their best against us, but I’m proud of the kids. That’s a good six (wins) in a row for us.”
The Diablos (6-0), who have a bye week next week, have accumulated a lot of road miles through the first half of the season.
They opened in the season against Baldwin of Maui and followed that with games in Bakersfield and La Habra before heading to Redondo Beach.
The previously unbeaten Sea Hawks (4-1) proved early they weren’t a team to overlook. They entered the game ranked second in the CIF-SS Western Division and caused some early problems, intercepting Brock Johnson’s third pass, leading to a field goal for the first points of the game in the first quarter.
Colin Schooler reached the end zone twice in the first half to give the Diablos a 14-9 lead heading into halftime. In the second half, the Diablos went relied mostly on their running game. Schooler finished with 155 yards and three touchdowns.
“They were playing our pass really well, so we went to our ground game,” senior quarterback Brock Johnson said. “Our line played awesome. Credit to them, they played us really well in the first half and then we just grounded and pounded. ”
The Diablos scored the first 21 points in the second half to put the game away, taking a 35-9 lead on a Johnson-to-Austin Osborne 20-yard touchdown pass. Johnson also had a rushing touchdown.
Defensively, the Diablos recorded seven sacks.
“This bye week comes at the right time,” Bob Johnson said. “I knew we would be a little bit of sync in some areas tonight and we were, but that’s an undefeated team and we put in on them.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
