An uncharacteristic night, and a loss, for Mission Viejo

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

There’s a reason Mission Viejo has won seven consecutive league titles. The Diablos don’t panic and they make plays on offense.

But there were uncharacteristic twists in their 28-24 loss Friday to Tesoro, which snapped a 39-game unbeaten streak in league and the reign as South Coast League champs.

Mission Viejo didn’t close the show. It led by 10 points, 24-14, with 10:31 left in the fourth quarter. After Tesoro closed to within three, Mission Viejo scored again for what should have sealed the deal. Instead, a 48-yard touchdown pass from Allan Bridgford, pictured left, to Warren Reuland was negated by a holding penalty.

‘I’m not blaming anything on a penalty,’ said Bob Johnson, Mission Viejo’s coach. ‘If it was there, it was there. It was a huge call.’

And, too, there was a rare moment of panic. In the final seconds, Mission Viejo called a timeout it didn’t possess. Needing to cover 54 yards with five seconds left, it instead needed to cover 69. It probably wouldn’t have mattered, but it was a mistake that Mission Viejo just doesn’t make.

In a last-gasp effort to continue the streak, Bridgford’s pass to Kevin Chandler was incomplete. Reuland, who rather infamously was credited with a touchdown catch in a tie with San Clemente, picked up the ball to run. But the game was over, and he threw the ball into the ground as Tesoro players rushed the field.

‘We did everything we wanted to do,’ Johnson said. ‘Up by 10 in the fourth quarter, you put people away, but we didn’t do that. That’s the way it goes. They won and we didn’t.’

-- Martin Henderson