DIVISION VII FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Trabuco Hills Struggles Past St. Francis

Trabuco Hills moved into the second round of the Division VII playoffs with a 42-21 victory over La Canada St. Francis Friday night at Trabuco Hills High School, but the victory was far from a walkover the score seemed to indicate.

After Trabuco Hills (6-4-1) took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, St. Francis (5-6) came back strongly in the second, scoring two touchdowns to tie the game at 14-14 with 2 minutes 28 seconds left in the half.

The Mustangs seemed to lose their momentum at that point, and on St. Francis’ next possession, quarterback Rudy Martinez drove his team to the Mustang 21.

St. Francis attempted a field goal that would have given it the lead, but it instead turned into one of the big plays of the night for Trabuco Hills when defensive back Nate Urone blocked the kick.

“That was a big play,” Trabuco Hills’ Coach Jim Barnett said. “We needed the touchdown to get the momentum back.”

The Mustangs drove to the St. Francis 25 with three seconds left in the half. From there, quarterback Pat Barnes, who completed 14 of 24 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns, threw to Cordell Graham in the left corner of the end zone to give Trabuco Hills a 21-14 lead.

Trabuco Hills, which plays Arroyo Grande next, was holding a 28-21 lead in the third quarter when Jeff Clayton returned a kickoff 95 yards to give the Mustangs a 35-21 lead.