Kick Is Wide, and Dana Hills Gets Third Tie

Rob Crummel of Dana Hills floated a wobbly 30-yard field-goal attempt wide to the left with 23 seconds remaining.

The ugly was a fitting conclusion. Dana Hills and host El Toro piled up penalties and turnovers during their 7-7 tie in a South Coast League game Friday night at Trabuco Hills High School.

A tie was nothing new to Dana Hills, which has three of them this season. Even so, it was probably enough to get the Dolphins (5-1-3, 2-1-1) into the playoffs.

“We were very fortunate to come out of here with a tie,” said Dana Hills Coach Don Douglass.

El Toro Coach Mike Milner did not feel as fortunate.

“I don’t think you can derive anything positive out of this,” said Milner, whose team (3-5-1, 1-2-1) has been struggling this season. “We were hungry for a win, and we didn’t get it.”

Both teams pushed and shoved each other up and down the field most of the first half. El Toro finally managed to score when Tom Waldron caught a 13-yard pass from Bill McFadden with 1:38 remaining in the first half. McFadden’s extra point gave El Toro a 7-0 lead.

Dana Hills had two failed scoring opportunities. Both times the Dolphins moved inside El Toro’s 30-yard line, only to have quarterback Scott Covington throw an interception each time.

Marcus Jenkins got Dana Hills even with a 24-yard run with 7:10 left in the game. Crummel’s kick tied the score.