Return Sparks El Toro Past Capistrano Valley

After his team seemingly sleepwalked through a scoreless first half against Capistrano Valley High Friday night, El Toro Coach Mike Milner preached to his players at halftime about needing a big play to swing some momentum their way.

He just didn’t necessarily expect results on the opening kickoff of the second half.

Vinnie Mascari busted loose for a 67-yard return and the Chargers scored two plays later to break the deadlock, going on to a convincing 35-7 victory over the Cougars in a South Coast League game at Trabuco Hills High.

“It was a real boost to the team and we needed it,” Mascari said. “Once we started going, we knew we could crush them and it would be all over.”

The Chargers (5-3, 2-1 in league) certainly didn’t have to worry about fatigue on offense as Capistrano Valley controlled the ball for more than 17 minutes of the first half.

The Cougars twice threatened in the half but missed on two field-goal attempts.

Following Mascari’s return, Ryan Switzer took over, scoring El Toro’s first touchdown on a two-yard run and setting up the next with an interception and 48-yard return on the Cougars’ next possession.

After the Chargers took a 21-0 lead on touchdown scrambles of six and two yards by quarterback Evan Whitaker, the Cougars (1-7, 0-3) answered on quarterback Jeff Dixon’s 33-yard scoring run.

Ashkan Nazeri added touchdown runs of one and four yards to complete the scoring.