LAKE FOREST – If traditional plays aren’t working, it’s always nice to have a trick up your sleeve.
Or two, in Tesoro’s case. Running back Graeden Sharpe completed both of his pass attempts for 143 yards and the eventual winning touchdown as the Titans notched a come-from-behind 25-21 nonleague victory over El Toro on Friday night at El Toro High.
El Toro’s defense was relentless in the Titans backfield, holding the Titans to 30 yards rushing on 24 carries.
So Tesoro (3-1) called on Sharpe to throw. He hit Joe Morenc for gains of 63 and 80 yards, the latter giving Tesoro a 22-21 lead with 8:51 left in the game.
“We needed those types of plays tonight,” Tesoro coach Matt Poston said. “No doubt, we were pulling all the stops to scratch this one out.”
El Toro’s defense, which had an interception by Sam Whipple, also made it tough for quarterbacks Chase Petersen and Aaron Angelos, who combined to complete 15 of 37 passes.
“El Toro is very good,” Poston said. “To get a win here is huge.”
The loss continued a tough season for the Chargers (0-4) who were held scoreless in the second half after holding an 11-point lead at halftime. El Toro also lost receiver Shane McLaughlin to injury in the first half after the junior had made two catches for 52 yards.
The Chargers opened the game with an efficient seven-play, 71-yard drive that took 1:50 and was capped by a touchdown pass from Cooper Jones to Austin Derrico. El Toro later scored twice in two plays – a 57-yard TD pass from Jones to Aguilar and a 48-yard TD run by Marcus Blevins. The scores gave El Toro a 21-10 halftime lead.
Peterson, who also ran for a score, uncorked a 61-yd TD pass to Shane Coleman to bring the score to 21-15 before Morenc’s game-winning TD. Rizkallah added a 22-yard field goal to close the scoring.
Contact the writer: npercy@scng.com
