SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Trabuco Hills Seniors Get Last Hurrah

Ryan Renzi and Jake Galasso didn’t just rain on Costa Mesa’s parade, they doused it.

Saving their best game for last, seniors Renzi and Galasso sparked Trabuco Hills’ 44-6 victory and sent Costa Mesa home without a Southern Section title.

Renzi, a 6-foot-4, 175 pound defensive end, returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown, halted another Costa Mesa drive with a fumble recovery and stopped Mustang quarterback Jeff Niebling in his tracks on a two-point conversion attempt.

“That was my first touchdown ever in eight years of playing,” Renzi said. “After I recovered that fumble I was thinking, this is my day.”

Galasso capped his roller-coaster career at Trabuco Hills with 152 yards in 14 carries, including touchdown runs of 41 and 55 yards.

A broken leg kept Galasso on the sideline as his team lost the Division VII final two years ago and he found himself in and out of the lineup this season as Trabuco Hills rotated three quarterbacks during the first eight games.

However, an injury to Serge Gudowski put Galasso in the starting lineup at running back and left J.C. Pintsak the lone quarterback. The chemistry worked and the Trabuco Hills’ offense didn’t score fewer than 33 points the rest of the season.

“I knew once J.C. got in there our offense would click,” Galasso said. “At the beginning of the season, the rotating was OK, but I knew we couldn’t go far in the playoffs with that system.”

Galasso plans to go even further. Today, he plans visit Washington State. Oregon State and Columbia also have shown interest in him.