Mission Viejo Falls Victim to Santa Ana Valley’s New Attitude

Sometimes, you need new talent to turn a team around. Sometimes, you simply need to dress better.

With members of its statistics crew wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the motto “New Look, New Attitude, New Era,” and with members of its football team wearing shiny new helmets, Santa Ana Valley took its fashion statement to heart, defeating Mission Viejo, 42-17, before 400 Thursday at Santa Ana Stadium.

“We knew we needed a new attitude to be successful and we’ve done that,” said Scott Orloff, who is in his third season as Falcon coach.

The victory was a payback for the Falcons’ humiliating 41-13 loss to the Diablos in last year’s season opener.

Santa Ana Valley (1-0) was led by quarterback Ricky Chavez, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 129 yards and four touchdowns.

Things started poorly for Mission Viejo (0-1), which was penalized for illegal procedure on the opening kickoff.

Jason Parrott returned the Diablos’ next kickoff 70 yards to the Diablos’ 22-yard line. After a two-yard run by Leafi Naea and another 10-yard penalty against the Diablos, Chavez passed to Parrott in the end zone for the Falcons’ first touchdown just 40 seconds into the game.

Santa Ana Valley then took flight, gaining 153 yards in offense in the first half to Mission Viejo’s 15, to take a 20-3 halftime lead.

Orloff wasn’t surprised by his team’s domination, saying he expects this season’s squad to be much better than last season’s, when the Falcons finished 3-7 overall and in last place in the Century League.

“We feel like if we stay healthy, we’re going to be good,” he said.

Mission Viejo closed to within 10 points after Brian Lee scored on a five-yard run on its first possession of the second half. But Santa Ana Valley scored seven minutes later, after Chavez completed a seven-yard pass to Adrian Buenrostro. On the extra-point attempt, the snap sailed high, but Chavez grabbed the ball and passed to Garfield Banner in the end zone for two points.

“Obviously we had some breakdowns in special teams and penalties that gave them all their scores, so that is something that we have to work on,” Orloff said.

The Falcons incurred 80 yards in penalties.

Many wondered how the Falcons would compensate for the loss of standout running back Dwyane Cherrington, the Century League’s offensive player of the year last year who currently is at Colorado. But Naea, a 6-3, 190-pound senior, answered the challenge, gaining 82 yards in 14 carries.

“When Dwyane Cherrington left, we lost his speed, but we have big tough guys,” Orloff said.