Mission Viejo makes case by routing Tesoro

Is Mission Viejo the best team in Orange County?

The Diablos stated their case in emphatic fashion Friday night, breaking a scoreless tie with 20 unanswered points in the second quarter on their way to a 37-7 victory over South Coast League rival Santa Margarita Tesoro at Mission Viejo High.

On a night that when Santa Margarita upset Santa Ana Mater Dei and Anaheim Servite beat Orange Lutheran on the final play, there was no such drama for Mission Viejo, which dominated on both sides of the ball to remain undefeated and in first place in the league standings.

Quarterback Ian Fieber, who has committed to San Jose State, threw touchdown passes of 29 and 30 yards to receiver Sean Modster and a 27-yard scoring strike to Andrew Schuurs. Fieber completed 17 of 25 for 287 yards.

“We’re up there [with the best],” Fieber said. “That first touchdown gave us a lot of confidence. When we play our game and execute like we did tonight, we’re tough to beat.

“We were ready for everything they threw at us.”

Modster, a senior bound for Boise State, showed why he was a second-team all-county selection last year after transferring from Rancho Santa Margarita, catching four passes for 109 yards. Schuurs caught five passes for 70 yards and Jordan Palomino added four receptions for 32 yards.

A sack by Benden Fettis forced Mission Viejo to punt on its first possession, but the Diablos scored on their last four drives of the first half to build a 20-0 lead.

Zach Olson kicked field goals of 35, 28 and 26 yards for the Diablos (8-0, 2-0), ranked fourth in the Southland by The Times.

Even with leading rusher Alex Suchesk sidelined with a hamstring injury, the Diablos’ ground attack didn’t miss a beat as Daniel Marx gained 62 yards on 10 carries and Rome Innocenzi added 46 yards on 10 carries.

“We’re very happy because that’s a good football team,” Diablos Coach Bob Johnson said. “I don’t predict scores but I’m not that surprised because we’re a pretty balanced team. We had a junior [Innocenzi] come in and run the ball effectively.”

Modster’s younger brother Devon completed 11 of 25 passes for 190 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown to Jake Smeltzer with 41 seconds left, and Jon Rivera rushed 14 times for 58 yards for the Titans (6-2, 2-1), ranked 20th by The Times. Devon, a sophomore, transferred from Mission Viejo to Tesoro this season.

“I’ve been thinking about this game for a long time,” Sean Modster said. “I can’t believe I was playing against my brother because we didn’t think it would happen. I’m happy he did well, but at the same time I didn’t want them to score at the end.”

Steven Macke picked off a Devon Modster pass at the goal line and ran 100 yards for a touchdown to make it 37-0 late in the fourth quarter and a running clock was used the rest of the game. The Diablos’ defense pressured the Titans’ passer all night and had four sacks.

Smeltzer made four catches for 103 yards for Tesoro, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Military veterans were honored after the game and Mission Viejo players wore camouflaged jerseys and presented them to the veterans during a postgame handshake ceremony.

“This victory was about more than us,” Sean Modster said. “We honored over 100 veterans and this game was for all of them.”

sports@latimes.com