Friday’s Highlights : Johnson, El Toro Pass Test, 17-15

Fans lined the hillsides and jammed Mission Viejo High School’s football stadium Friday night to watch Bret Johnson of El Toro and Todd Marinovich of Capistrano Valley, two of the most publicized high school quarterbacks in the Southern Section.

The two juniors didn’t disappoint the crowd of 5,000 as they passed for a combined 372 yards and 3 touchdowns in an aerial display. But it was Johnson and his El Toro teammates who scored a 17-15 victory over Marinovich & Co. in a key South Coast League game.

Marinovich completed 20 of 31 passes for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns. Johnson connected on 10 of 16 for 114 yards and a touchdown and also showed his skill as a runner, gaining 45 yards in 16 carries.

The victory was the seventh straight for El Toro, The Times’ No. 2-ranked team. But it didn’t come without a scare from Capistrano Valley (4-3).

Marinovich took the Cougars on a 90-yard scoring march after Tommy Adams had recovered a fumble to cut El Toro’s seemingly safe 17-7 lead to 17-13 with only 2:46 remaining. When running back Brent Parker scored on a two-point conversion run, the Cougars were suddenly down by only two points.

Capistrano Valley tried an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but the ball sailed out of bounds after it deflected off an El Toro player. The Chargers ran out the clock with the help of a key fourth-down run by Johnson.

“This game was a tribute to Capistrano Valley,” said Bob Johnson, El Toro’s coach and Bret’s father. “This game was only the second time we’ve crossed an opponent’s 20-yard line and failed to score, and we did it twice tonight. We could have put them out of reach, but they hung in tough.”

Capistrano Valley outplayed El Toro in the first half but saw the game get away in the third quarter on a critical fourth-down play.

El Toro lined up for an apparent 31-yard field-goal attempt, but when holder Scott Miller got the snap, he rolled to his right and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Hoelker for a 17-7 lead.

El Toro running back Aly Diaz, who had only 12 yards rushing in the first half, added 99 in the second half to finish with 111 in 21 carries.