Adams Shines Like Bright Star in Capistrano Valley’s Victory

Capistrano Valley tailback Chris Adams doesn’t mind running in the shadow of teammate Paul Shaheen.

In fact, Adams found life in the twilight has a sunny side, too, on Friday night.

Adams scored the winning touchdown and added a two-point conversion as the Cougars, ranked No. 2 in Orange County, beat top-ranked El Toro, 22-21, Friday night at Capistrano Valley High School.

The Cougars (10-0) clinched the South Coast League title with the victory. It was their first conference championship since winning the Central Conference crown in 1980.

“God, this is the greatest thing that’s ever happened,” said Adams, a 6-foot, 180-pound junior. “This is a dream come true, something everyone on this team will always remember.”

And it was Adams, recovering from a collarbone injury he suffered four weeks ago, who helped make it memorable.

Adams played behind Shaheen, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior who finished with 121 yards in 16 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run 43 seconds into the third quarter.

“Paul and I have been switching off all year,” Adams said. “Paul’s a great back. But then, if I come in and take his place, it takes the added pressure off him. We take the pressure off each other.”

Shaheen turned up the pressure with the Cougars trailing, 14-6, early in the third quarter.

He took a handoff from quarterback Tony Solliday, cut up the middle and took off down the left sideline for the touchdown. His score cut the deficit to 14-12.

Then Adams went to work.

He scored on a two-point conversion to tie the game, 14-14.

On the next play, El Toro grabbed a 21-14 lead on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Steve Stenstrom to Kevin Rowe.

But Adams answered with a two-yard touchdown run with 8:29 left in the third quarter. He added another two-point conversion run that gave the Cougars the lead for good.

Adams, who also played defensive back, helped the Cougars hold off three El Toro comebacks in the fourth quarter.

“We knew we had to stop their running game,” Adams said. “I thought we played great defensively.”

Adams finished with 55 yards in eight carries, well behind Shaheen. He said his collarbone was still a little sore after he broke it in a game against Westminster four weeks ago.

But he and the Cougars weren’t feeling any pain Friday night.