ORANGE COUNTY SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS / SOUTHERN CONFERENCE : For El Toro, Another Rout in Victory Over Paramount : Chargers Strike Early in 28-8 Win

When teams with combined records of 21-1 meet in the playoffs, the expectations of a close game are high.

But there have been few close games for El Toro High School this season.

The Chargers breezed to another lopsided victory Friday night, defeating Paramount, 28-8, in the second round of the Southern Conference playoffs in front of 2,000 fans at Paramount.

“We had an extremely good first half in all aspects of our game,” Charger Coach Bob Johnson said. “We played as good as we have in the last three weeks, and we’re still improving.”

The top-seeded Chargers made it look easy in the first half, scoring on three of their first five possession.

Early in the first quarter, El Toro drove 51 yards and scored on a one-yard run by quarterback Bret Johnson. Johnson had earlier kept the drive alive when he rolled right for six yards on a fourth and four from the Paramount seven-yard line.

The Charger defense held the Pirates to only two first downs and minus 4 yards rushing in the half and the offense moved the ball well.

El Toro employed a good blend of Aly Diaz’ rushing (130 yards in 14 carries) and Johnson’s passing. Johnson threw for 130 yards, including 103 in the pivotal first half. He completed 12 of 18 attempts and threw 1 touchdown pass. He also threw an interception, only his fourth.

Johnson teamed with wide receiver Scott Miller for a 17-yard touchdown play in the second quarter to put the Chargers ahead, 13-0. Miller caught 6 passes for 80 yards.

Paramount quarterback Kojuan Williams, who had passed for 1,320 yards and 20 touchdowns going into the game, was limited to 129 yards passing, and most of that came late in the fourth quarter.

El Toro put the game out of reach when Diaz broke through the left side of Paramount’s defensive line and raced 69 yards to give the Chargers a 28-0 lead with 2:02 remaining in the third quarter.

Paramount’s only score came late in the game on a one-yard run by Williams. It was his 11th touchdown of the season. El Toro will meet league rival Mission Viejo in the semifinals next Friday at Mission Viejo High. Johnson said he would have preferred playing Foothill “because nobody likes to play a team they’ve already beaten (38-14) a second time in the season.”