HOLD ON: Mission Viejo John Akiba, top left, is harassed by Brady Amack, right, and Graylen Sanders of De La Salle. SANG H. PARK, FOR THE REGISTER |
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Mission Viejo falls to De La Salle
The Diablos' 35-7 loss is their second consecutive defeat
OCVarsity.com
MISSION VIEJO- De La Salle of Concord made its trip to Southern California a successful one. The Spartans beat Mission Viejo, 35-7, on Saturday, in a nonleague football game at Mission Viejo.It might be back in a couple of months. The way the Spartans played in front of a crowd of around 7,000 and a national television audience, they could be at The Home Depot Center in Carson in December to play in the CIF State Championship Bowl Series.
De La Salle, ranked No. 3 in California by CalHiSports.com, did just about everything right while handing the Diablos their second consecutive loss. Both teams went into Saturday’s game after a bye.
The Spartans committed no turnovers, scored quickly when they had to and put together long, time-consuming drives when they needed them. They ran and passed equally effectively and made big stops on defense when required, including four sacks of Mission Viejo quarterback Allan Bridgford and three interceptions.
If De La Salle (4-0) follows that formula the rest of the season, the Spartans could get a chance to make up for its loss to Canyon of Canyon Country in last season’s Division I state bowl game.
Current St. Margaret’s coach Harry Welch coached Canyon to that upset last December.
Mission Viejo beat De La Salle when the two met at Mission Viejo in 2005. De La Salle beat Mission Viejo in Concord last year.
Mission Viejo did not have many opportunities to stage a second-half comeback. The Diablos got the ball only three times. Their first possession ended on an interception, the second consisted of three incompletions and a punt, and on the third the Diablos were moving upfield but time expired.
A son of a well-known quarterback played that position on the Spartans’ final two possessions. Nate Montana, son of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, ran the De La Salle offense on those final series. He threw no passes.
Mission Viejo had a two-touchdown lead in its previous game before losing to Vista, 26-14. The Diablos grabbed the early lead against De La Salle, too. They took the opening kickoff and scored on a 35-yard play-action touchdown pass from quarterback Allan Bridgford to receiver Corbin Davis.
That 7-0 advantage would be the Diablos’ only lead of the game.
De La Salle responded right away. The Spartans, starting from their 20, drove quickly upfield largely thanks to a 71-yard run by Tito Pica. Kylan Butler provided the six points on a 1-yard up-and-over-the-line dive on the right side to make it 7-7.
De La Salle alternated quarterbacks, as it has has done this season. Mike MacGillivray is the throw and Blake Wayne is the runner. And MacGillivray showed why on the Spartans’ second possession, when he led receiver Michael Czyz perfectly on a 54-yard touchdown pass that put De La Salle ahead to stay, 14-7.
Mission Viejo drove to the Spartans’ 29 late in the quarter, but the effort ended on an interception by De La Salle’s Blair Wishom in the end zone.
After an exchange of punts, De La Salle extended its lead to 21-7 on an 85-yard touchdown pass with Wayne at quarterback. With the Diablos crowding the line, Wayne took a one-step drop and drilled the ball to Czyz on a quick inside slant, and Czyz was gone.
De La Salle quickly pushed its lead to 28-7 in the third quarter when MacGillivray connected with Czyz on a 40-yard touchdown pass as Czyz again got behind the secondary and in stride hauled in a well-placed throw.
The Spartans made it 35-7 in the fourth quarter, on another touchdown pass by Wayne, this one covering 4 yards to Brady Amack. That was a 19-play drive that followed an interception and covered 92 yards and took more than 10 minutes off of the clock.
MacGillivray finished 4 for 6, for 111 yards. Wayne, the running quarterback, was 3 for 3 for 87 yards.
Pica rushed for 153 yards on 15 carries.
Bridgford had a rare off night. He was 11 for 22, for 140 yards and three interceptions. Kevin Chandler caught three passes for 54 yards.
The Diablos’ Craig Woods rushed for 87 yards on 12 carries.
De La Salle and Mission Viejo will not play each other next year. De La Salle athletic director Terry Eidson, also the Spartans’ defensive coordinator, said De La Salle will be in a league next season, after playing a freelance, nonleague affiliated schedule for so long, and that has restricted the flexibility of the Spartans’ nonleague schedule.
Mission Viejo plays host to Aliso Niguel on Friday in the South Coast League opener for both teams.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
