San Clemente Ends Frustration, Defeats El Toro

There’s no need to try to find out the last time San Clemente defeated El Toro in a South Coast League game. All you have to do is ask Triton Coach Mark McElroy. He was there. Playing.

“The last time we beat El Toro, I was a junior in high school,” said McElroy, who played on three South Coast League championship teams at San Clemente. “That was 16 years ago.”

For the second week in a row, San Clemente (4-3, 2-0) stopped a long losing streak. The Tritons held on to defeat El Toro, 26-14, in front a homecoming crowd Friday night.

Last week, San Clemente defeated Dana Hills to break a 26-game league losing streak.

Once again it was the San Clemente defense that came through in the end. San Clemente built a quick 13-0 lead when quarterback Brett Hall scored on a four-yard run on the first drive of the game and then hit Allen Vaughan with an 11-yard scoring pass.

El Toro (2-4-1, 0-2) made the score 13-7 at the half when Jeff Brizic scored on a six-yard run with 41 seconds remaining.

San Clemente hit quickly again in the second half. Two plays after San Clemente recovered a fumble, Hall hit Dylan Newman for a 46-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion pass failed and San Clemente led, 19-7. El Toro answered on its next possession when Brizic, who rushed for 153 yards in 26 carries, scored from the three.

But San Clemente’s defense stiffened, sacking Bryan Lefevers at key times during El Toro’s next three drives. El Toro had one last chance when it lined up at its own 25 with 1:38 remaining. But after an incomplete pass, Lefevers was sacked for a 10-yard loss by Ryan Klaasen and was then pressured into intentionally grounding the ball, putting El Toro at its one. When the fourth-down pass was incomplete, San Clemente took over at the one and Hall scored.