Trabuco Hills holds off Western's late charge

MISSION VIEJO - Trabuco Hills was committed to stopping third-seeded Western’s vaunted rushing game.

“If they were going to beat us,” Mustangs coach Jason Negro said, “they were going to have to do it with the pass.”

Western almost did. Tight end Ken Davis was tackled at the 5-yard line with two seconds left, and Trabuco Hills survived a furious comeback to beat the Pioneers, 28-21, in the CIF-SS Southwest Division quarterfinals.

Trabuco Hills (8-4) will play at No. 2 La Habra next week.

Western (9-3) had averaged 303 yards rushing per game, but gained only 89 against Trabuco.

The victory came with Trabuco’s two leading rushers on the bench because of injuries. Shane DeCillo, who has 1,382 yards, injured his thumb earlier this week in practice. Danny Arriola, second on the team in carries, sprained his ankle in the first quarter.

But Donnie Simonsen answered with 31 carries for 191 yards and a touchdown with 2 minutes, 32 seconds remaining to break a 21-21 deadlock. It came after a Western fumble at its 30-yard line.

“I was looking forward all year to getting my chance,” said Simonsen, a junior who had not carried more than a half-dozen times in any game this season. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way to get my chance, in the quarterfinals against a really good team.”

Jason Mayer completed 13 of 19 passes for 201 yards and touchdowns of 7, 16 and 20 yards.
   
After being totally outplayed in the first half, Western came back in the final 15 minutes. Down 21-7, the Pioneers turned to quarterback Derek Orman in earnest. He completed nine of his next 11 passes for 146 yards. He finished 11 of 15 for 189 and an interception.

He helped Western score twice in the final three minutes of the third quarter, and on his first play of the fourth quarter, he connected with Francis Amasio for 46 yards. However, J.B. Torsey caught Amasio from behind at the 1-yard line and the ball squirted out of his hands and through the back of the end zone for a turnover.

“First time I’ve ever seen that happen,” Negro said. “If you’re going to win a title, you’ve got to get some breaks along the way. That was ours.”

It slowed Western’s momentum and gave Trabuco a chance to grind five minutes off the clock, which was just enough time; 4-1/2 minutes might have given Western too much time at the end.

“When they tied it at 21, I got nervous because I didn’t know how we would respond,” Negro said.

Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com