Prep Football : Mission Viejo Catches, Passes Santa Ana : 35-12 Victory Is Diablos’ First in Series After Three Consecutive Losses

Mission Viejo High School, looking every bit the best high school football team in Orange County, breezed to an impressive 35-12 victory over Santa Ana Thursday night in front of 3,000 spectators in Santa Ana.

Mission Viejo (4-0) opened a 14-0 lead in the opening seven minutes and was never seriously threatened. Quarterback Troy Kopp passed for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns, and versatile Eric Ekdahl scored 3 touchdowns and kicked 5 PATs.

Mission Viejo’s victory took some of the sting out of three consecutive losses to Santa Ana over the past three years, by a combined score of 79-28. It is the first time Santa Ana (2-2) has lost two consecutive games since the Saints opened the 1985 season with consecutive losses to Newport Harbor and Saddleback.

Ekdahl, the county’s leading scorer with 66 points, had been on the losing side twice in the series against Santa Ana, but the slotback said he noticed a difference in the Diablos’ approach to this game earlier in the week.

“We had good practices and wanted this one,” he said. “Our coaches stressed the play on the lines, and I thought we physically outplayed them up front. It was a sweet win.”

As usual, Ekdahl played a big role. He was on the receiving end of 13- and 67-yard touchdown passes from Kopp in the first half and finished the scoring with a nifty 56-yard run off a double-reverse in the third quarter.

The 67-yard touchdown reception displayed all of Ekdahl’s versatility. He caught a short curl pass from Kopp at Santa Ana’s 46, broke two tackles and then raced down the right sideline for the score.

Ekdahl also showed he has plenty of speed, outrunning three members of Santa Ana’s secondary on his 56-yard scoring run in the third quarter. And when was the last time anyone beat Santa Ana’s secondary to the end zone on a long run?

Only a week ago, Santa Ana managed just 4 yards rushing in a 17-10 loss to Mater Dei, in which the Saints’ offensive line was criticized for its poor play. “We didn’t block at all,” said Santa Ana Coach Dick Hill.

The Saints’ line showed some improvement against Mission Viejo, and their running backs gained 184 yards. Tailback Garner Hicks led all rushers with 105 yards in 14 carries.

But there was little consistency to the Santa Ana offense. Quarterback Dan Tuioti threw two short touchdown passes, but he also threw two interceptions, and both led directly to Mission Viejo scores.

Still, with steady improvement over the next eight weeks, Santa Ana could emerge as a strong contender for the Southern Conference title.

When someone suggested a possible matchup between the teams in 10 weeks for the title, Mike Rush, Mission Viejo’s coach, said, “It’s a definite possibility.”

At this stage, Mission Viejo displayed the explosiveness generally reserved for Santa Ana. The Diablos totaled 342 offensive yards, with two long touchdown plays accounting for 123 yards alone.

“We utilized some versatile weapons tonight,” Rush said. “It seemed like when we played these guys before, some of our kids got uptight. In the past, we’ve been emotionally too high. This time, we played our kind of football.”