Cougars Get Quick Start, Rout El Toro

It took less than a half for Capistrano Valley to assert itself during a 37-6 rout of El Toro Friday at Capistrano Valley High.

The Cougars scored on their first five possessions, with running back Dan Geiss scoring four touchdowns, and the Capistrano Valley defense held El Toro to one first down and 30 yards of total offense in the half.

Geiss rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns in 13 carries, and caught four passes for 53 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Gaines, to lead the Cougar offense. Geiss did not play in the second half.

Gaines completed 10 of 15 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, and played only two series in the second half.

The victory sets up Capistrano Valley (6-3, 3-1 in league) for a showdown with San Clemente next week for second place in the league.

“I was sick to my stomach this week trying to get ready for El Toro,” Capistrano Valley Coach Eric Patton said. “I knew they’d be ready to play. But tonight, everything came together for us, almost too fast.”

After forcing El Toro (4-4, 2-2) to punt after the opening kickoff, Gaines led Capistrano Valley 53 yards in seven plays, tossing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Dan Lauder for a 7-0 lead with 7 minutes 8 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

After another El Toro punt, Geiss took a pitch from Gaines and sprinted left past the El Toro defense for a 64-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead with 4:38 remaining in the quarter.

Forty-seven seconds into the second quarter, the Cougars scored their third consecutive touchdown when Geiss took a handoff and broke outside left tackle Mitch McCrimmon to score on a 23-yard run to give Capistrano Valley a 21-0 lead.

Cougar linebacker Levi Roquemore tackled Jamie Hanaway in the end zone for a safety to give Capistrano Valley a 23-0 lead with 9:20 remaining in the quarter.

Following the free kick, Geiss capped a 50-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run, then Geiss caught the touchdown pass from Gaines with 1:07 remaining in the half to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive for a 37-0 lead

In the first half, Capistrano Valley outgained El Toro, 305-30, and had 14 first downs to the Chargers’ one.

El Toro scored its touchdown with 1:20 remaining in the game when Travis Harr scored on a three-yard touchdown run.

“If you don’t count that last touchdown, our defense has played 10 consecutive shutout quarters,” Patton said. “We’re peaking at the right time.”