SOUTH COAST LEAGUE FOOTBALL : Weekes Effective in Mission Viejo Victory

Nothing is for certain in the South Coast League. Need proof? Check out Mission Viejo quarterback Brad Weekes’ performance in the Diablos’ 20-14 victory over El Toro Thursday.

It defied logic, and most of all, prediction.

Mission Viejo Coach Mike Rush bristled at a newspaper’s mention of Weekes’ play as “ineffective” in its advance story. Sure it wasn’t flattering, but what better word was there?

Coming into the game, Weekes had completed nine of 34 passes for 104 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions. In his last outing, he misfired on 13 of 16 passes as Mission Viejo lost to Villa Park, 21-6, the Diablos’ third consecutive loss.

Despite that losing streak, the Diablos’ longest since 1976, Rush stuck with Weekes for the South Coast League opener against El Toro.

Good thing, too.

Weekes was nearly flawless Thursday, guiding Mission Viejo (3-3, 1-0 in league) to a 20-0 halftime lead that held up. A junior, Weekes completed 10 of 12 passes for 134 yards and touchdowns of 12 yards to tight end Bill Pedigo and 20 yards to running back John Higashi.

And it all looked so effortless, as if he’d been doing it all season.

“That comment in the paper about Brad Weekes being an ineffective quarterback, well, he showed he was pretty effective tonight,” Rush said. “He showed he’s coming along. He’s only a junior and we’re trying to bring him along slowly.”

With leading rusher Erick Fielding sidelined for the second consecutive game with a deep thigh bruise, Mission Viejo turned to the pass more often. And perhaps that caught El Toro (2-3-1, 0-1) a little off balance.

Mission Viejo’s line gave Weekes the time he needed to throw, and the Diablo receivers always seemed to be wide open.

Of course, it didn’t hurt matters that Mission Viejo took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in 14 plays for its first score. Weekes almost overthrew Pedigo on the 12-yard scoring pass, but the tight end made a one-handed catch in the back of the end zone.

After an El Toro punt, Mission Viejo drove 82 yards in 13 plays with Weekes hitting Higashi on a screen pass in the left flat. Twenty yards later, Higashi was standing in the end zone.

Higashi, who gained 70 yards in 18 carries, added a three-yard touchdown run with 1 minute 44 seconds left in the half.

“The one thing that was positive was that we had tempo,” Rush said. “We were able to run the ball and throw the ball. The last three weeks we didn’t have tempo. We wanted to establish hard-nosed football and keep the tempo in our favor.”

El Toro made a game of it late, thanks to two touchdowns in the game’s final 5:51.

First, quarterback Bryan Lefevers threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matt Harding. Then, after recovering an on-side kick, the Chargers drove 50 yards for a two-yard scoring run by Jeff Brizic with 4:13 left.

Eschewing another on-side kick, El Toro kicked the ball deep. It never saw the ball again as the Diablos ran out the clock.

At game’s end, the Mission Viejo players ran and danced in celebration. They owed much of their happiness to Weekes’ fine play.