Laguna Hills Startles Trabuco Hills, 17-14

There might have been bigger victories in the football history of Laguna Hills High, but the 17-14 Pacific Coast League victory Friday night over Trabuco Hills has to rank with the best.

The Hawks (5-1-1, 2-0) went to their ground game behind Marwan Saba--particularly in the second half--to defeat the defending-league champions in front of 3,500 at Mission Viejo High School.

“This certainly was a very big win for us,” Laguna Hills Coach Steve Bresnahan said. “We played the kind of game I knew we could play.”

That kind of game included running the ball right, left and through the middle in the second half in what was not an exhilarating brand of football, but one that accomplished what the situation dictated: running the clock down to protect a narrow lead.

Laguna Hills went into the third quarter holding a 10-7 edge and increased it to 17-7 on a one-yard run by Saba with 4:56 remaining in the period. Saba, who gained 100 yards on 31 carries, carried the ball nine times in the 14-play, 63-yard drive.

Saba was the key to Laguna Hills’ plan of eating up the time on the clock and keeping Trabuco Hills’ offense off the field. He rushed 24 times in the second half for 89 yards.

“The key was not to let their offense get the ball,” Bresnahan said.

When Trabuco Hills (2-4-1, 1-1) did have the ball in the early going, it looked like it would turn into a long night for Laguna Hills.

The Mustangs scored on their second possession of the game, an 80-yard, eight-play drive that featured completions of 23, 24 and 20 yards by quarterback Pat Barnes and that culminated on a one-yard sneak by the 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore with 4:23 left in the first quarter.

But Laguna Hills answered with a one-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Casey Sullivan with 6:10 remaining in the second period and added three more points on a 33-yard field goal by Marc Brodbeck five seconds before the half.

Trabuco Hills pulled within three points early in the final period on another one-yard run by Barnes. The touchdown was set up with a 35-yard pass play from Barnes to wide receiver William Grant on a third-and-nine situation from the Laguna Hills 49-yard line.

Barnes finished with 6 of 15 passes for 126 yards, while Sullivan completed only 4 of 12 passes for 63 yards.