Offenses Sputter, but El Toro Has Enough to Shut Down Irvine

A week ago, El Toro and Irvine high schools sizzled while winning with thrills, spills and style.

Perhaps it was inevitable then that when El Toro and Irvine met Thursday night at Mission Viejo High School, their matchup came down to this:

The battle of the blahs.

El Toro, the county’s No. 1-ranked team, defeated 10th-ranked Irvine, 18-0, thanks to the Charger defense, especially its secondary.

Offensively, though, both teams sputtered. The one exception was El Toro quarterback Rob Johnson, who quietly amassed 278 yards passing. Johnson completed 23 of 33 passes, was intercepted once and threw three touchdowns.

While he was surprised by his passing statistics Thursday, Johnson called his team’s offensive performance sloppy, especially when compared to the Chargers’ victory over Capistrano Valley last Friday.

“I don’t know what our problem was tonight,” Johnson said.

If Johnson shook his head over El Toro’s output, you have to wonder what kind of head-hanging Irvine quarterback Jason Minici must have suffered through. Minici, who set a school record with 301 yards passing last week against Dana Hills, was held to just seven of 25 for 69 yards Thursday.

Irvine put out an impressive effort in the game’s beginning, especially when it stopped El Toro on a goal-line stand, sacking Johnson on the two on fourth down. But Johnson gradually pulled his teammates together, driving them into scoring range midway through the second quarter. A five-yard pass to Brian Haas put the Chargers ahead, 6-0.

Moments later, Johnson hit Wade Jackson--who scooted around Irvine safety Jimmy Bassler--in the end zone for a 25-yard scoring play to give El Toro a 12-0 lead at halftime.

El Toro got its final touchdown on its first possession in the third quarter as Johnson connected with Darren Doalson on a 44-yard touchdown pass, giving the Chargers an 18-0 lead.

A somewhat sputtering offense was the least of the Chargers’ worries though after Danny Maestas reinjured his left knee with less than a minute left in the game. Maestas, who was out six to seven weeks earlier this season because of the knee injury, caught his first pass from Johnson but fell and was carried from the field.