Tesoro can’t possibly beat Mission Viejo, can it?
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Tesoro cannot possibly win its game tonight/Friday at Mission Viejo. The Titans cannot possibly win the South Coast League title. They are a figment of South Orange County’s imagination. Right?
They are not ranked by The Times, by The Register, or the Southern Section.
They are not a player.
Are they?
Well, Brian Barnes’ first season as coach at Tesoro has certainly been a productive one. After the disaster of a year ago (1-9), this season’s Titans (6-3, 4-0) have won five games in a row.
But are they in the same league as Mission Viejo, which has not not lost a South Coast League game since 1999, a span of 39 games. The Diablos have won seven consecutive league titles and are ranked by all those entities listed above.
Yet, right now, Tesoro is the team to beat. The Titans are alone in first place, ahead of Mission (6-2-1, 3-0-1) and San Clemente (6-2-1, 2-1-1).
Consider this: Tesoro defeated San Clemente, 16-13, with a touchdown on the last play of the game. Mission Viejo tied San Clemente, 31-31, with a field goal on the last play of the game.
Tesoro defeated Lakewood, 24-21, and Lakewood was within a touchdown of Long Beach Poly, losing, 13-7. I’d say that any team that can play within a touchdown of Poly can play with Mission Viejo. Tesoro didn’t do that, but you have to like the connection.
Consider these other numbers:
- Tesoro beat Aliso Niguel, 35-6; Mission beat AN, 34-14.
- Tesoro beat Capo Valley, 52-14; Mission beat CV, 42-14.
- Tesoro beat Dana Hills, 35-0; Mission beat DH, 42-3.
At the beginning of the year, no one would have given Tesoro a snowball’s chance of beating the Diablos.
If they can avoid the mistakes that often accompany a first trip into the spotlight -- yeah, I know, they won a couple of smaller division championships, but this really is different -- I’d say they have a chance.
- Martin Henderson