Servite Defense Shuts Down Cougars, 19-0 : Football: Unbeaten Friars force five turnovers, limit Capistrano Valley to 33 yards rushing.

Servite, winner of only five football games the past two years, took another step forward Thursday night with a 19-0 victory over Capistrano Valley at Orange Coast College.

But whether it’s another sign of the Friars’ climb back to football grace is debatable. What is clear is that Capistrano Valley has slipped quite a bit.

The defending Southern Section Division II champions were pushed and shoved and dominated most of the night. They couldn’t run the ball and failed to offer much protection to quarterback Scott Patton.

A bad combination.

“It was embarrassing out there tonight,” Capistrano Valley Coach Eric Patton said.

Much of the credit can go to the Servite defense, which manhandled the Cougars from the start and forced five turnovers. The Friars (4-0) closed holes even before they could be opened. As a result, Capistrano Valley (1-3) gained only 33 yards on the ground.

Forced to throw, Patton became a 6-foot-1, 192-pound bull’s-eye. He was sacked five times and chased from one side of the field to the the other.

Patton did have some success, but those moments were fleeting. Twice he got the Cougars inside the Friar 10-yard line, but both drives ended with interceptions.

“We studied a lot of film and worked on our mental outlook,” said defensive tackle Matt Finch, who had two sacks. “That gave us an edge.”

There was another aspect, as well.

“They just lined up and kicked out butts,” Eric Patton said.

Servite also recovered three fumbles, one of which led to a score. Jason Gonchar recovered a Patton fumble on the four, which led to a two-yard touchdown run by Ken Mousseau.

With the Servite defense playing so well, the offense needed to do little. And it didn’t.

Quarterback Josh Nelson, who is also the team’s kicker and punter, put the ball in the air with his foot more often than with his arm. He finished four of six for 91 yards and passed once in the second half.

The Friars were content to butt heads and play a style better suited to leather helmets--the kind without face masks. Servite finished with 115 yards rushing, 89 of them by Michael Lund.

It was archaic and on Thursday, it was enough.