DIVISION VIII NOTES : Football Game No. 1 for Orange High School

Dave Zirkle, Orange’s athletic director, said Friday night’s Division VIII championship game against Trabuco Hills was “the biggest day in Orange High School history.”

Zirkle, 38, was 7 years old when he attended Orange’s last championship event, the 1958 Southern Section small schools basketball championship.

“The town got excited for the basketball game, but nothing like this,” Zirkle said.

Banners hanging from the upper rim of Santa Ana Stadium expressed the anger of Trabuco Hills High School’s fans over Friday night’s game being moved from Mission Viejo High School.

One banner read, “CIF + Orange Equals Anything Orange Wants” and another read, “New CIF Rule: Win The Coin Flip, Lose The Home Field.”

Trabuco Hills won the coin flip to host the title game, but the game was moved on Wednesday after Orange sold more than 3,000 tickets. Mission Viejo’s stadium seats approximately 4,500; Santa Ana Stadium’s capacity is 10,000.