MISSION VIEJO – Trabuco Hills coach Joe Silvey opts not to shed much light on the Mustangs’ early-season struggles.
If Friday’s first-half performance proved any indication, all signs of past kinks have been kicked to the curb.
Trabuco Hills celebrated its homecoming by powering past Capistrano Valley, 48-14, in a Sea View League game. Trabuco improved to 3-5 overall, 2-0 in league with its third consecutive win.
Trabuco Hills, which has won the past four meetings against Capo Valley, has outscored its opponents 153-61 since its 0-5 start.
“We felt like we’ve been building to this the last several weeks,” Silvey said. “This was a key test for us to come out against a really good team.”
Quarterback Cooper Uhl was in the driver’s seat for the Mustangs, completing 9 of 13 pass attempts for 277 yards and a touchdown. The senior also ran for a score in the first quarter.
“I knew we were going to come out firing,” Uhl said. “We saw a bunch of openings in the secondary.”
Trabuco Hills also leaned heavily on its combo of reliable running backs. On the fifth play from scrimmage, Jake Cuero exploded through an open gap and ran down the right sideline for a 46-yard touchdown to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead with 10:18 left in the first quarter. Chad Crosbie added a 7-yard TD six minutes later, and Uhl’s scoring run pushed the first-quarter lead to 21-0.
After Crosbie tacked on another scoring run early in the second quarter, Trabuco Hills quickly struck again. Uhl connected with Tommy Germain on a flawlessly executed reverse flea flicker to make it 35-0. A Joel Velazquez 43-yard field goal extended the halftime lead to 38-0.
Capo Valley (5-4, 1-2) was forced to punt on six of its seven first-half possessions and earned just 73 yards in the first half.
