Trabuco Hills uses a big finish

MISSION VIEJO - Trabuco Hills scored 21 points in the fourth quarter Friday en route to a 38-7 victory over visiting Brea Olinda in the first round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoffs.

After having two long touchdowns called back because of penalties, the Mustangs (10-1) transformed a close game into a blowout victory by blocking a field goal and capitalizing on two turnovers committed by the Wildcats (5-6) early in the fourth quarter.

"I thought we played a little bit of a sloppy game," Trabuco Hills coach Jason Negro said. "But we played hard and we endured some of the mistakes we made early in the game, and we made big plays when we had to have big plays."

After the Mustangs blocked a Wildcats field-goal attempt at the end of the third quarter, Trabuco Hills senior running back Matt Wagner carried the ball on six of eight plays on the ensuing drive, including the 2-yard touchdown run that gave his team a 24-7 lead.

Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com