Eisenhower Tops El Toro, Proves It’s No Hayseed

Maybe it was the pregame hype that did it. Or maybe it was the long drive from Rialto through Friday afternoon traffic. But Eisenhower preserved its No. 1 national ranking and its pride with a listless, 20-9, victory over El Toro Friday night at Trabuco Hills High School.

To have read the pregame volleys coming from Eisenhower Coach Tom Hoak in the past week, you would have thought the game had something significant on the line. When it was over, it was just another victory for 4-0 Eisenhower, top-ranked in USA Today’s national high school poll.

It was simply another tough loss for El Toro (1-3). The Chargers have lost three consecutive games since routing Trabuco Hills, 22-3, in Coach Mike Milner’s El Toro debut.

If Hoak’s comments in the San Bernardino Sun last week had any effect on El Toro it didn’t show. He said, in part, “Every time we play a team down there, there’s a certain degree of arrogance, like we’re the country bumpkins or hayseeds.”

As raggedly as Eisenhower played Friday, it seemed the Eagles were ripe for an upset. When running back Omar Love fumbled on the opening play of the game and El Toro recovered on the Eisenhower 11-yard line, it seemed all the big talk from the Inland Empire was just that--talk.

El Toro took a 7-0 lead three plays later when quarterback Bill McFadden found Wade Jackson open in the end zone. But that was about the only offensive highlight of the night for the Chargers.

Love later showed why he’s one of the most sought-after backs in Southern California, rushing for touchdown runs of 44 and 57 yards in the first quarter. He finished with 214 yards in 19 carries, many featuring spin moves that freed him from El Toro tacklers for extra yardage.

His 20-yard gain on third and four at the El Toro 23 midway through the fourth quarter set up James Simpson’s game-clinching three-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes 12 seconds left.

Love took a handoff and ran right, but was immediately hemmed in. No problem. He sprinted left and cut down the sideline to the Charger three.

“Obviously there’s no substitute for speed,” Milner said. “Speed kills. Anytime you have that speed you have the potential for that (long gains) happening. It’s like when you play Long Beach Poly, you expect that at some point they’ll break it.”

Love had six carries of 10 yards or more. The rest of the time, El Toro’s defense, led by standout lineman Chris Miller, handled Love well.

Turnovers, especially early on, hurt El Toro, Milner said. McFadden threw two interceptions in the first half and El Toro also lost two fumbles in the second half.

“When you play the No. 1 team in America and have four or five turnovers, you can’t expect to win the game,” Milner said.

El Toro’s offense was ineffective against a swarming Eisenhower defense. McFadden completed 12 of 25 passes for 151 yards.