DANA POINT – Amid handshakes and hugs Friday night, Mission Viejo’s Connor Hill couldn’t help but reflect on his time at Dana Hills.
“It’s bittersweet,” Hill said. “It’s déjà vu. What happens on the field stays on the field and I still have a really good relationship with all of those guys. I love them all.”
But when it came to facing the Dana Hills secondary in the second half, Hill, the sturdy wide receiver, and his new teammates were all business.
Hill caught four passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and Mission Viejo glided past Dana Hills, 34-7, in an Orange League opener. The Diablos extended their winning streak to five games.
Quarterback Brock Johnson completed 11 of 18 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns. All of the junior’s scoring passes covered at least 42 yards. He connected with Hill on TD passes of 50 and 43 yards.
But the Mission Viejo offense took a while to warm up.
In its first South Coast game since 2011, Dana Hills (1-6, 0-1) limited the damage, holding the Diablos scoreless in the first quarter. Dana Hill’s promising opening drive, which lasted 15 plays and ate nearly seven minutes off the clock, ended when a fourth-and-6 run was stuffed at the Mission Viejo 32.
Dana Hills’ next misstep came on its second possession of the second quarter. The Dolphins fumbled on a second-and-9 from their own 41. Mission Viejo’s Quinn Trottman recovered the ball, and the Diablos (5-2, 1-0) needed just two plays to find the end zone. Johnson connected with Abrae Booker-Currin on a 42-yard pass with 9:16 remaining in the half, and the speedy receiver shifted through multiple would-be tacklers in the middle of the field to score.
Dana Hills also squandered an opportunity late in the second quarter when the Dolphins recovered a Mission Viejo errant snap at the 50, but its ensuing drive quickly ended in a three-and-out.
On Mission Viejo’s next possession, Isaiah Miller scored on a 2-yard TD run to push the halftime lead to 13-0.
Things again looked promising for Dana Hill’s at the start of the second half when it recovered an onside kick. Quarterback Brandon Rogers, replacing injured starting quarterback Cole Wilber, marched the Dolphins down the field on eight plays before finding Nathan Hernandez in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass. The conversion cut the deficit to 13-7, but Mission Viejo scored the next 21 points.
