PREP EXTRA / SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : DIVISION I : Trabuco Hills Has Winning Answers

People were asking the wrong question all along.

Was Trabuco Hills ready for Southern Section Division I football? Forget that.

Was Division I football ready for the Mustangs?

The Mustangs, who were Division VIII champions last season, answered all questions Friday with a 23-12 victory at home over Esperanza in their first Division I playoff game. Trabuco Hills faces Long Beach Jordan, which beat Encino Crespi, 46-21, Friday.

Whoever draws the Mustangs had better note they aren’t exactly awed by the competition at this level.

“A lot of people think because we’re from Division VIII that we’re nobodies,” running back Laquent Fobbs said. “We want to show them we can play football.”

Esperanza players and coaches are true believers. The Mustangs (9-2) bullied them on offense and smothered them on defense.

The Aztecs (7-4), ranked third in Orange County, had lost three games by a total of 16 points, all to Division I heavyweights. They had even rattled top-ranked Los Alamitos three weeks ago in a 35-32 loss.

“Every time I looked at that game film, I got worried,” Mustang Coach Jim Barnett said.

A worried Barnett is a dangerous Barnett. This is a coach who put in a wishbone offense the week of a Southern Section championship game and then opened that game with it. Friday’s slight of hand was a little less drastic but very effective.

The Mustangs merely grounded quarterbacks Chad Collins and J.C. Pinstak, who had combined for nearly than 1,600 yards passing. Never mind that the Mustangs’ leading rusher had all of 144 yards.

“That’s just Coach Barnett, he’s always pulling something out of his hat,” Fobbs said.

Fobbs was one of the rabbits. He moved from wide receiver to running back and gained 73 yards. Bobby Johnson gained 77 and scored three touchdowns. The Mustangs finished with 206 yards on the ground.

The Esperanza defense was caught flat-footed and pushed back by an offensive line that averages 250 pounds.

“When you pass block, you just stand there,” guard Zane Champion said. “When you run block, you get to hit some one . . . hard.”

The Mustangs did that at the start, going 77 yards in 14 plays for a Johnson touchdown. They picked up a safety on Esperanza’s first series, when a high snap sent punter Ryan Clark scrambling. He tossed the ball out of the end zone rather than risk a touchdown recovery.

The 9-0 lead put the Mustang defense on the attack. It blitzed constantly, even from the secondary. Defensive back Jake Anderson had two sacks and forced two fumbles. The second set up a touchdown and gave the Mustangs a 23-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

It turned quarterback Chris Stretch’s evening into a long one. He had completed 59% of passes during the regular season, but was 10 of 25 Friday. He was sacked six times.

Dahrin Footman gained 102 yards, but the Aztecs had only 32 net yards rushing. Only one team has gained more than 100 yards against the Trabuco Hills defense.