PREP EXTRA / SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : El Toro Gets Best of Rival Mission Viejo

The stakes have changed, but the Mission Viejo-El Toro rivalry remains the same.

Mission Viejo has moved from the South Coast League to the Sea View League this year, but that didn’t lessen the intensity as El Toro eked out a 10-3 victory Friday night in front of 2,500 at Trabuco Hills High.

For the Chargers (2-1), it was their second straight victory over the Diablos (1-2), who lead the overall series, 13-10.

“I would’ve liked to score some more points offensively but defensively we were real good tonight,” Chargers Coach Mike Milner said. “Going in I knew we were ready to play.”

But among those not ready was Mission Viejo back Todd Fielding, who was nursing a sprained right ankle. Without him, the Diablos netted had minus-three yards rushing but avoided the shutout on Mark Fiore’s 20-yard field goal with 9:07 left in the game.

It appeared the first half would go scoreless until the Chargers, who were punting, got the ball back at the Diablos’ 37 after Mission Viejo was penalized for too many men on the field.

Quarterback Brian Wilson wasted little time in passing to Josh Tiplady for nine and 40 yards. Then with 53 seconds remaining, he threw 14 yards to Merle Sango, who made a spinning catch. Chad Johnson’s extra point made it 7-0.

Johnson’s 26-yard field goal--after an 11-play, 53-yard drive to open the second half--gave El Toro a 10-0 lead. Then the defense did the rest.