Tesoro backs it up, beats No. 1 Mission Viejo

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA- Tesoro wanted to prove Friday that its victory last season  against Mission Viejo was no fluke.

The No. 7 Titans got what they wanted by stunning the top-ranked Diablos, 31-14, in front of a capacity crowd of about 5,000 at Tesoro. (Full game stats.)

"Oh, we did,"  Tesoro cornerback Preston King said. "There was so  much talk about that we're going to have one good year after coming off a 1-9  year (in 2006).

"Our coaching staff is the best coaching staff in the county. We have to hand it to them."

In the South Coast League opener for each school, Tesoro (6-0, 1-0) attacked quarterback Allan Bridgford with a blitz package with its speedy linebackers, who helped force four  interceptions. King had two of the interceptions, including one he returned for a 58-yard touchdown late in the first half.

The Cal-bound Bridgford had been intercepted only twice coming into the game.

The Titans also sacked  Bridgford four times. "That was the game plan,"  said Tesoro's second-year coach Brian Barnes. "I knew if we could get to Bridgford, we would have a good chance at winning."

Tesoro linebacker Jake Warden had one solo sack and combined with Boise State-bound linebacker John-Michael Davis on two others. Warden and Davis combined on sacks on  back-to-back plays in the fourth, including one on a fourth-and-13 near midfield that sealed the final margin.

Last season, Tesoro beat the then seven-time defending league champion Diablos,  28-24, en route to the league crown.

"They played really well,"  Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson said in a television interview immediately after the game.

The Diablos (5-1, 0-1)  were ranked second to Long Beach Poly in the Pac-5 Division and ranked seventh  in the state.

Tesoro junior running back Zach Mitchell carried the ball 30 times for 171 yards behind a mammoth offensive line of Evan Finkenberg, Brad  Handfield, Ty Vanderford, Josh Cabraland Sil Ajawara.

"I knew all along they could play football," Barnes said.

Fullback Issac Tago, a  5-foot-10, 215-pound senior, also was a key blocker.

While Bridgford was  pressured throughout, Tesoro quarterback Robbie Picazo was sacked once.

Tesoro opened a 14-0 lead  in the second quarter as Picazo capped consecutive drives with a 1-yard touchdown sneak and a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide out Brett Gudim.

Mission Viejo countered Gudim's score  with a 52-yard touchdown reception by Alex  Mascarenas from Bridgford.

A UCLA commit, Mascarenas broke a tackle near the 35 and sprinted to the end zone with 2:51 left in the second.

The Diablos' defense then held, and Bridgford had Mission Viejo on the move again when King stepped in front of wide out Kevin Chandler for an interception and  raced 58 yards for the score and a 21-7 Titans lead with seven seconds left in  the first half.

"It was awesome," King said. "I knew it was going to be a pass. Chandler ran a route to the outside. I read  Allan's eyes and stepped up."

King’s play loomed larger as Tesoro had opted to receive the second-half kickoff. Tesoro opened the third with a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that featured nine running plays. Mitchell had six carries, including a 9-yard touchdown run on a draw as the Titans opened a 28-7 lead.

• Click here for full game stats.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com