SANTA MONICA - Suddenly, Capistrano Valley had scored two touchdowns in 28 seconds, and was ready to give undefeated Santa Monica a game.

But that stretch, which tied the score late in the first half, was as close as the Cougars would get. From that point, each offense received two gifts.

The Vikings took advantage of both, and the Cougars took advantage of neither in a 28-14 loss at Santa Monica College.

“After the second score, we felt like we could do anything,” wide receiver Lee Casas said. “We were really playing as a team.”

Casas caught both of Brandon Brennan’s touchdown passes. He held on to the second one, from 19 yards out with 3:25 left in the half, despite drawing a pass interference call.

That drive had been set up when Jordan Bertini’s kickoff dropped on the Vikings’ 20-and bounced backward, allowing the Cougars’ Michael Hollis to recover.

The Cougars forced Santa Monica (5-0) to go three-and-out, but a muffed punt gave the Vikings the ball on the Capistrano Valley 35.

Four plays later, Vikings running back Christian Ross plunged in for a 6-yard touchdown.

The Cougars defense held up for most of the second half, as a Weston Rhodes interception and a tipped punt gave their Capistrano Valley’s offense the ball in Vikings territory on consecutive possessions.

But the Cougars (2-3) managed only five first downs in the second half and did not score.

Capistrano Valley lined up with four receivers through most of the game, because tailback Bardia Rezaei (hip pointer) left after one carry.

“This is good for us,” said Coach Chi Chi Biehn, whose team opens South Coast League play against Aliso Niguel next week. “We’ve seen three quality opponents the last three weeks, and we’ve gotten better.”

Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com