SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Division VIII : Trabuco Hills Earns School’s First Trip to Final

For all that the Trabuco Hills High School football team accomplished Friday night--and it was considerable--the Mustangs will be remembered for what they didn’t do.

Trabuco Hills went huddle-less for its first three possessions, scoring on each, to rout Atascadero, 42-6, in the semifinal round of the Division VIII playoffs at Mission Viejo.

The Mustangs (11-2) face Woodbridge, a 21-0 winner over Agoura in the other semifinal, in the championship game next Friday.

It’s the first championship appearance for Trabuco Hills, which is competing in only its fourth season of varsity play. A remarkable feat, but made all the more amazing when you stop to consider how the Mustangs got this far.

Both games in the the previous rounds were blowouts--42-7 over Santa Paula last week and 49-6 over Yucaipa in the opening round.

In the semifinal, the Mustangs not only defeated but befuddled the unbeaten Greyhounds (12-0), the top-seeded team entering the playoffs.

Trabuco Hills can thank the zero-huddle offense for the lopsided victory.

Drive No. 1, the first of the game, began at the Mustang 32-yard line. David Lowery, Trabuco Hills’ quarterback, completed 7 consecutive passes, giving a hint to the 2,000 at Mission Viejo High of what was to come.

After each completion, the Mustangs would hurry to the line as Lowery called the play. The Mustangs were so proficient they had to wait for the officials to get the yard markers set before running another play.

And if the officials were caught off balance, Atascadero was thrown for a figurative loop.

On the 10th play of the drive Lowery threw to Rick Sparks for a 17-yard touchdown play with 9:09 left in the first quarter.

Drive No. 2 ended when Chad DeYoung, a slotback, took an inside handoff and ran 18 yards for a touchdown with 3:48 left in the quarter. Lowery capped drive No. 3 with a 1-yard sneak on the first play of the second quarter.

Suddenly, Trabuco Hills held a 21-0 lead and though it slowed the pace slightly in the second half by occasionally using a huddle, the Mustangs never eased up.

Lowery completed 32 of 44 passes for 380 yards and 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions to highlight the Mustangs’ offensive barrage.

“You know, they are a real physical football team,” said Jim Barnett, Trabuco Hills coach. “If we played them in that respect we wouldn’t have won. It was a matter of getting them to play our game and not us playing their game.”

Hence the no-huddle offense.

The Mustangs proved to be too quick for the Greyhounds, who claimed superior size along the offensive and defensive lines.

Nowhere was that more evident than when Lowery was passing.

He used short patterns, hitting open receivers such as Tim Manning and Rick Sparks, chipping away at the defense.

On defense, too, the Mustangs were too swift for the Greyhounds.

They held Doug Nettleton, Atascadero running back, to 48 yards in 13 carries. Rob Kerns, the Greyhounds’ other back, got just 15 yards in 9 carries.

Atascadero’s only score came on Nettleton’s 2-yard run with 6:49 left in the half. But Atascadero trailed, 21-6, at that point and never was able to rally.