Dan Geiss

School: Capistrano Valley High

Sport: Football

Position: Running back

Class: Junior

Satisfied to be trailing Edison, 10-9, at halftime, Capistrano Valley Coach Eric Patton simply wanted to run out the first-half clock Thursday night. That wish was granted--time expired after Geiss was tackled on the Edison 17 after a 57-yard run off tackle--but the run gave the Cougars something more gratifying: confidence. “That gave us a lot of faith in what Danny could do on that particular play,” Patton said. In the second half, that faith paid off. Geiss, playing in only his second varsity game, scored on runs of 31 and 90 yards and finished with 287 yards in 18 carries. He also scored on a two-point conversion to help the unranked Cougars to a 31-18 upset of Edison, then-ranked No. 5 in Orange County. “Things looked really glum during the first part of the game,” Patton said, remembering a ball was snapped over the punter’s head. “We had a tough time getting anything going, but in the second half Danny really sparked us.”

Other top performers:

Jeremy Braxton-Brown, who was named MVP of the Long Beach Millikan water polo tournament after helping Capistrano Valley defeat North Hollywood Harvard Westlake in the title match.

Erick Fielding, who rushed for 232 yards, including a 96-yard touchdown run, for Mission Viejo in its 14-0 upset of then-No. 2 ranked Irvine.

Brett Hall, who passed for 196 yards and three touchdowns in San Clemente’s 24-7 victory over then-No. 4 ranked Tustin.

Gunnar Strunz, who passed for 174 yards and four touchdowns in Canyon’s 41-7 victory over Buena Park.