SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : No. 1-Ranked Vista Has a Sour Night as Orange Glen Gains a 30-18 Upset

Sean Gousha threw two first-half touchdown passes and ran for another score as Orange Glen took a 24-0 lead at halftime and went on to upset No. 1-ranked Vista, 30-18, in a Palomar League game Friday night at Orange Glen.

“Everything we did worked,” Orange Glen Coach Dave Lay said. “We played great defense. I’m sure they came out a little flat.”

Lay said he did not know what to expect from his team after last week’s last-minute 26-21 loss to Mt. Carmel.

“That was as tough a loss as I’ve ever had,” Lay said. “It would have been really easy for a high school team to give up after losing two close games in the league.”

Orange Glen, which also lost 28-23 to Torrey Pines, is 4-2-1 overall and 1-2 in the league. Vista is 5-2 and 3-1. Mt. Carmel (3-0 in league) was idle Friday, so Vista drops into second place.

Gousha threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Dan Early in the first quarter. He also scored on a one-yard run in the first quarter.

Dan Upson blocked a Vista punt early in the second quarter and recovered the ball at the Vista 24-yard line. On the next play, Jason Sowers scored on a pass from Gousha. Shannon Vinje added a 21-yard field goal near the end of the half.

“We played as perfect a half as you can play on both offense and defense,” Lay said. “They had one turnover, but basically we just shut them down in the first half.”

Vista running back Marc Jones scored three touchdowns in the third quarter on runs of 30, 5 and 20 yards to narrow Orange Glen’s lead to 24-18.

But Dennis Esposito, who gained 112 yards in 15 carries, scored on a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter for Orange Glen.