PREP FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : Santa Ana Wins Championship : Defense Makes Big Plays in Win Over Mission Viejo

That was quite an offensive show Robert Lee put on Saturday night, rushing for 231 yards and a touchdown to lead Santa Ana High School to a 32-21 victory over Mission Viejo in the Southern Conference championship game at Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

But don’t lose sight of the contribution the Saint defense made to the win, which gave Santa Ana its first Southern Section football championship since 1945, when the Saints beat Alhambra, 33-21, for the major division title.

This defense, which intercepted El Modena quarterback Chris Gallego five times in last week’s semifinal win over the Vanguards, again came up with the big plays in front of 7,000 fans Saturday night.

Trailing, 25-21, in the fourth period, Mission Viejo had the ball and was looking to drive for a go-ahead score.

Enter Saint defensive end Lanier Bridges, who sacked Brendan Murphy for an eight-yard loss. And linebacker Derrick Jones, who dropped Bob Doran for a three-yard loss after the receiver caught a quick out pass from Murphy. And cornerback Royal Wilbon, who, just before a long pass appeared to reach to Doran, batted the ball away to force a Mission Viejo punt.

After the Diablos held Santa Ana and forced a punt on its ensuing possession, Murphy again went deep, this time throwing a bomb to Dennis Erk, who went up for the ball with cornerback Paul Hurley.

Both players got their hands on it, but Hurley wrestled it away for an interception, his 12th of the season and fifth of the playoffs, to give Santa Ana possession at its 31.

Lee’s 43-yard run put the Saints in scoring position, and quarterback Eric Turner ran 12 yards for the clinching touchdown, which gave the Saints a 32-21 lead with 1:30 remaining.

“We both went up for the ball and we both had it, but I came down with it,” Hurley said of his interception. “Erk is a good player, but I kind of resented him because he was named all-county (at defensive back) and I wasn’t. Our defense held strong so our offense could get the ball back.”

Santa Ana held Diablo running backs Todd Yert and Darrin Sweazy to a combined 141 yards and did an excellent job of containing Murphy. The Mission Viejo quarterback had run for 129 yards in last week’s semifinal win over El Toro, but his only gain Saturday night was a 12-yard keeper in the first quarter. The Saints sacked him four times for losses of 20 yards.

“They played tough defense in what was a down-to-earth, physical game,” Mission Viejo Coach Bill Crow said. “They never seemed to tire. They kept coming at us.”

Still, the Diablos appeared to be in good shape with a 21-18 lead late in the third quarter, courtesy of Yert’s third touchdown of the game, a 32-yard run on a draw play.

But Santa Ana came right back with a 71-yard scoring drive that was capped by Frank Arechiga’s eight-yard touchdown run to give the Saints a 25-21 lead with 9:11 to go.

Turner, who gained 26 yards on a quarterback sneak on the drive, faked to Lee and then handed the ball on the reverse to Arechiga, who raced around the left side and slipped into the corner of the end zone for the score. Raul Ochoa added his second of three extra points.

Lee, a sophomore who missed the Saints’ first four games (Santa Ana lost three of them), saved his best game for last. The 5-foot 11-inch, 200-pounder who has been Santa Ana’s main offensive weapon in the playoffs, compiled the 231 yards in 25 carries and had runs of 25, 32 and 43 yards.

But Turner, who has been virtually silent since Lee emerged as the force on offense, came through with a solid passing performance, completing 7 of 12 attempts for 105 yards.

“We had to utilize the pass in this game,” Turner said. “We came out passing, and that opened up the run. The run opened up the pass, and we kept on going.”

Lee finished the first half with 141 yards and a touchdown to help the Saints to an 18-14 lead. His score came on a 25-yard draw play, on which he broke four tackles en route to the end zone to tie the game, 7-7, with 4:42 left in the first quarter.

The Diablos had taken a 7-0 lead on Yert’s four-yard touchdown run, which capped a 70-yard, game-opening drive. But Santa Ana answered with a 69-yard drive for the tying touchdown.

Turner completed a 24-yard pass to Hurley and, four plays later on fourth down, he faked a punt and passed 12 yards to Steve De La Riva, who made a nice catch on the right sideline to give the Saints a first down on the Mission Viejo 25. Lee took care of the final 25 yards with his touchdown run.

Mission Viejo made it 14-7 on Yert’s three-yard run, but the Diablos have Erk and Murphy to thank for that score. From his 26-yard line, Murphy unloaded a bomb to Erk, who went up simultaneously with Wilbon but ripped the ball away at the Saint 40 and continued to the 3 before being hauled down by Hurley. Yert then handled scoring honors and Don Roberson kicked the extra point.

Santa Ana again came back with a 67-yard scoring drive, Emele Leausa going over from four yards out. Turner, lined up to hold the extra-point attempt, faked it and ran around the right side for a two-point conversion.