DANA POINT – The “wake-up call” mentality is still very much alive and well with San Clemente.
Adding to the momentum gained against Huntington Beach last week, the Tritons scored on their first seven possessions in the first half against Dana Hills, leading to a 54-7 rout of the Dolphins on Friday at Dana Hills High.
San Clemente (2-1) has outscored opponents 89-7 in the first half over the past two weeks.
“The kids realized after that Week 0 loss that nothing is given to you, you have to earn it,” Ortiz said. “Next week, we play La Mirada and that’s a good football team, we’ll have our hands full.”
The Tritons dominated the trenches. The offensive line, consisting of Tucker Scott, Donte Harrington, Turner Tonkovich, Nate Atkins and Zach Cochrun, provided clear running lanes for a trio of Tritons backs.
Brandon Reaves scored two rushing touchdowns, Austin Whitsett added a pair and Vlad Dzhabiyev added a fifth TD on the ground. San Clemente ate up 234 rushing yards in the first half.
“We talked about imposing our will at the line of scrimmage,” Ortiz said. “They’re meshing really well together. We’ve made some good strides in the last two weeks.”
Defensively, the Tritons held Dana Hills (0-3) to 41 yards in the first half.
The Tritons needed just seven offensive plays to build a quick 21-0 lead 5:42 into the game.
Sears tossed TD passes of 53 and 33 yards to Reaves and Liam Eldridge. The offensive line sprung Dzhabiyev loose for a 43-yard score.
In the second quarter, Reaves broke through for TD runs of 42 and 30 yards. Whitsett added touchdown runs of 44 and 22 yards, while leading the trio with 101 rushing yards on eight carries.
The Dolphins got on the board late in the third quarter when a fumble recovery by Davis Degroote on San Clemente’s 8-yard line set up a 2-yard TD run by Harry Solakian.
Contact the writer: npercy@ocregister.com
