MISSION VIEJO – Capistrano Valley scored 20 consecutive points in the second half to beat San Juan Hills, 34-12, in a nonleague game at Capistrano Valley High on Friday.
After trading scores in the first half and sloppy drives to start the third quarter, Capo Valley (2-1) flipped a switch and dominated both sides of the ball.
The Cougars defense provided the opportunities in the second half, stopping San Juan Hills (1-2) four times on fourth down and collecting five sacks, including two in one series by Kyle Green, and an interception from Billy Biehn.
“The defensive line pressure was awesome,” Capo Valley coach Ernst Bucher said. “That made me real happy to see.”
Quarterback Gavin Pruett got the offensive engine going for the Cougars, throwing for 139 yards and a touchdown in the second half. Pruett finished 21 of 29 passing for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
“Once he settled down, he was on fire,” Bucher said. “He makes those quick decisions and it really helps drive our offense.”
Adam Gordon caught Pruett’s second-half touchdown pass, a 28-yarder, as one of six receptions for 88 yards in the half. Gordon finished with 11 receptions for 116 yards.
San Juan Hills scored on the opening drive of the game on a 37-yard touchdown run from quarterback Patrick O’Brien.
O’Brien ran for 75 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown and finished 22 of 38 passing for 192 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Capo Valley answered late in the first quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run from Jordan Bocko.
After San Juan Hills was stopped on fourth down at the Cougars’ 18-yard line, Pruett extended the lead by hitting Trevor Wise in stride on a 75-yard TD pass for a 14-6 advantage early in the second quarter.
Wise finished with three receptions for 104 yards.
Ryan Hayes brought the Stallions back with a 5-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 14-12 midway through the second quarter.
San Juan Hills missed their two-point opportunity to tie and a field goal for the lead as time expired on the first half.
