MISSION VIEJO – Opening the year with two losses was hardly the start that Mission Viejo had in mind.
That has not stopped fifth-ranked Mission Viejo from building a head of steam as it works toward its ultimate goal of a CIF-SS West Valley Division title.
The Diablos rattled off their ninth straight win by topping Temecula Valley, 42-6, Friday night in their first-round game at Mission Viejo High.
“I’m really proud of them,” Diablos coach Bob Johnson said. “We had some issues at the start of the year. They fought back and really played good ball.”
Mission Viejo (9-2) next goes on the road to face Rancho Cucamonga in a second-round game. The Cougars, the third-place team from the Baseline League, defeated Valencia of Valencia, 52-20, Friday.
The Diablos are coming off an undefeated run through the South Coast League, another source of pride for Johnson.
“It’s a pretty good league,” he said. “To win that again was tremendous. Our second goal is to win CIF.”
Defense has been the backbone of Mission Viejo’s football team this year, and it was on display against the Golden Bears (6-5). The Diablos forced two turnovers and recorded 12 tackles for a loss in the first half to help Mission Viejo jump out to a 35-0 lead by halftime.
Jordan Garbin had two sacks and Parker Godfrey made an interception to go with two tackles behind the line of scrimmage to lead Mission Viejo’s defense. Brett Guerrero and Brandon Sloss each added two tackles for negative yardage.
The dominance of the Diablos’ defense gave Mission Viejo a number of opportunities to start drives with a short field. The Diablos started five drives in Temecula Valley territory. Rome Innocenzi finished the first two such possessions with rushing touchdowns. Innocenzi finished with 108 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Brock Johnson and Bryce Chambers also had rushing scores for the Diablos.
Temecula Valley converted just one of its nine third-down attempts in the first half.
