ORANGE COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL : Kopp Seizes the Spotlight in Diablo Win

Most of the attention has been focused on quarterbacks Bret Johnson and Todd Marinovich in the South Coast League over the past two seasons, but a junior with a strong arm appears to be looming on the horizon.

Troy Kopp, a 6-foot 2-inch, 190-pounder with a flair for the big play, had his third impressive performance of the season in Mission Viejo High School’s 17-10 win over Fountain Valley Friday night in front of 2,000 fans in Huntington Beach.

Kopp completed 11 of 19 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown as the Diablos rolled to their third straight win. Fountain Valley slipped to 0-3 and has now lost 11 of its last 13 games.

Kopp set the tone for the evening when he connected with running back John Burns on a 70-yard scoring play on Mission Viejo’s first possession. Burns caught 4 passes for 115 yards and also gained 34 yards in 9 carries.

Kopp’s big game followed a 160-yard performance last week in a 31-14 win over Hart. He threw a 79-yard bomb in that game.

“He’s coming along,” said Bill Crow, Mission Viejo coach. “He’s a big, strong kid who can throw the ball. Our new offense (Delaware Wing-T) allows our backs and receivers to get open quick, and Troy has been doing a good job of finding the open receivers.”

Mission Viejo, a successful run-oriented team out of the I-formation for the past decade, unveiled its new offense last week and gained 198 yards rushing. The Diablos weren’t as efficient against Fountain Valley, but they did gain 122 yards on the ground.

“Our assistant (Ron Drake) thought the offense might work against Hart because they stunt so well, and we’ve decided to stay with it,” Crow said. “It wasn’t something we practiced all summer. We’ve only run the Wing-T two weeks.”

The victory also meant that members of the South Coast League have beaten teams from the Sunset League in all four nonleague games this season.

Fountain Valley, which played very well in an 18-11 loss to top-ranked El Toro last week, looked good at times and sputtered at other times. Quarterback David Henigan completed 20 of 28 passes for 203 yards, but he failed to get the Barons in the end zone on two key drives.

The Barons had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Derek Mahoney in the third quarter after getting a first and goal at the Diablos’ three-yard line. Fountain Valley also had a drive end at Mission Viejo’s 31-yard line with 4:35 remaining in the game.