ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / PREP EXTRA : DIVISION V : El Toro Defeats Villa Park : Division V: Quarterback Krupp gets his turn and delivers in 38-20 Charger victory.

When it comes to patience, Steve Krupp knows whereof he speaks.

Krupp stood in line for three years to get a shot at the El Toro quarterback position, but the wait was all worth it Friday, when he led the Chargers to a 38-20 victory over Villa Park in the second round of the Southern Section Division V playoffs.

Krupp completed 22 of 29 passes for 189 yards, including two touchdowns, to help El Toro (10-2) advance to next Saturday’s semifinal against undefeated Western.

“It has finally come and it has been a long wait. It is a great feeling,” Krupp said.

After his first two years on the freshman and sophomore squads, Krupp suffered the slight indignity of playing with the junior varsity squad as a junior, leading it to a 10-0 record while Brian Wilson led El Toro to the Southern Section semifinals.

But Wilson graduated after last season and Krupp hasn’t squandered his opportunity. He has completed 169 of 259 passes for 2,094 yards and 19 touchdowns this season, calling nearly 40% of the plays himself.

“He’s probably the most intelligent football player I’ve ever been around,” said Coach Mike Milner, “We’re probably asking more of him than any other quarterback we’ve ever had.”

Villa Park (8-3) was unable to contain Krupp.

“I didn’t think they had seen anybody throw the ball the way we can,” Milner said.

Although Villa Park broke lose for three big scoring plays--scoring touchdowns on an 80-yard run by Chris Bell, and two pass plays from Greg Granito to Chuck Reid of 67 and 77 yards--but succumbed to the consistency of El Toro.

El Toro broke out of a 14-14 tie in the second quarter by scoring on a seven-yard run by Murle Sango to take a 21-14 lead at halftime. Chad Johnson kicked a 28-yard field goal in the third quarter to give the Chargers a 10-point lead and they never looked back.

A 16-yard punt return by Sango late in the third quarter set up the Chargers at the Spartan 30-yard line. Richard Oates gained 27 yards in four consecutive carries before Krupp completed a pass to Brian Koupal in the end zone to put the game out of reach, 31-14 with 10:38 to play. Oates gained 133 yards in 17 carries for the Chargers.

The game was typical for El Toro because the Chargers tend to wear down opponents in the second half with their depth.

“We feel pretty confident that when we’re playing people that go both ways that we’re going to be pretty strong in the third and fourth quarter,” Milner said.

While Krupp was shining, Villa Park was suffering quarterback woes.

Sam Stremick, a senior, was knocked to the ground and came out of the game three times in the second quarter. He started the second half at wide receiver and Granito moved to quarterback.