Mission Viejo has smooth playoff start

MISSION VIEJO - When the 2007 playoffs opened a year ago, Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson complained that his South Coast League didn't get much respect by being thrown into the fire against Trinity League schools in first-round games.

Maybe someone was listening.

And maybe it was a good thing for the Trinity League schools.

A year later, Johnson's second-place squad opened the 2008 Pac-5 playoffs against Loyola of Los Angeles and scored a 37-7 victory Friday. (Full game stats.)

It was a typical performance for the Diablos (10-1), who averaged 45 points this season, nearly twice what Loyola (6-5) did. The Cubs were the second-place team from the four-team Serra League that includes second-seeded Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

With Cal-bound quarterback Allan Bridgford  able to avoid pressure from the Cubs' defense — he was sacked only once, in the fourth quarter — he completed 18 of 25 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns to Jake Marshall, of 82 and 5 yards.

Marshall was his ever steady self, too. He rushed 22 times for 124 yards.

Mission Viejo next will be the road team against Lakewood, a 35-34 overtime winner over fourth-seeded Servite.

“Anything can happen,” Johnson said. “You've got to come to play every week in this division.”

The blueprint for beating Mission Viejo is putting pressure on Bridgford.

The Cubs tried but were burned early when Bridgford dumped a screen pass to Marshall who took it 82 yards on the second play from scrimmage.

Mission Viejo went 63 yards in 11 plays on its next possession before Kassius Boswell kicked a 20-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter. Things continued to go Mission Viejo's way when Jake Staszak returned an interception 74 yards for a 17-0 lead at 8 minutes 14 seconds in the second quarter.

“We started off good again, which we've been doing,” Johnson said. “I'm so proud of our staff. It's not about anybody but them and the kids right now.”

Not everything went Mission Viejo's way. Twice in the first half it settled for short field goals and had a 35-yard attempt blocked. Loyola put pulled to 20-7 on Justyn Williams' 53-yard TD run, but the 2005 Division I champion was out of heroics.

•  Click here for full game stats and links to season totals and team rosters.

Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com