Top-Ranked Mission Viejo Holds Off Mater Dei, 14-7

Statistics don’t always tell the story. The faces of the participants usually do.

The look on the faces of Mission Viejo’s players Thursday was that of relief as the Southland’s top-ranked team held off No. 11 Santa Ana Mater Dei, 14-7, in front of 7,500 at Cal State Fullerton.

Statistically, the game wasn’t close -- Mission Viejo (2-0) gained 387 yards to Mater Dei’s 162. But “the score didn’t reflect that,” said quarterback Mark Sanchez, who completed 17 of 31 passes for 220 yards.

“Coaches told us it was going to be a dogfight and that’s what it was,” said the USC-bound senior, who converted fourth-down passes of 15 and six yards to keep alive the Diablos’ two scoring drives. “It was a heavyweight fight.”

One of Sanchez’s fourth-down completions was on a fake punt that kept alive a 48-yard scoring drive that ended with Chane Moline’s one-yard run with 1 minute 53 seconds left in the first half.

Mission Viejo also scored on its opening drive of the third quarter, a one-yard run by Keegan Gogerty, to go ahead, 14-0.

Mater Dei’s Kyle Woody, who had a huge game last week against Orange Lutheran in a 21-7 win, was sacked five times Thursday, twice by Wayne Kalagian. Woody completed only five of 13 passes, but had completions of 23 and 49 yards in a 79-yard drive that James Brunt capped with a one-yard run with 9:03 to play.

Moline finished with 25 carries for 135 yards and Konrad Reuland caught seven passes for 105 yards for Mission Viejo.

-- Martin Henderson

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Television station LA36 will broadcast the Los Angeles Fairfax vs. L.A. Franklin football game on a tape-delayed basis tonight at 9. The game will be re-broadcast at 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday.

Volleyball

The Dave Mohs Memorial Orange County girls’ volleyball tournament begins today at Huntington Beach Edison, Huntington Beach and Newport Harbor highs. Competition continues at the schools on Saturday and the final is set for 7 p.m. Monday at Edison.

Last year, Ashley Engle, then a 6-foot-3 sophomore opposite hitter from Anaheim Esperanza, was named the tournament’s most valuable player after leading the Aztecs to a three-game victory over Los Gatos in the Division I championship game.

Esperanza, the defending Southern Section Division I-AA champion, is entered again this year, along with Corona del Mar, which reached the Division III-A final last season, Mission Viejo and hosts Edison, Huntington Beach and Newport Harbor, a Division II-AA finalist in 2003.

Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, the defending Division II-AA champion, and Santa Ana Mater Dei, the Division II-A winner last season, will compete in the Las Vegas Durango tournament today and Saturday.

Baseball

Attracting teams from the Westside, El Segundo and San Fernando Valley tournaments, Moorpark has organized a new 18-team, five-game tournament set to debut in March that includes two-time defending City champion Chatsworth, Woodland Hills El Camino Real, Encino Crespi and Newhall Hart. Chatsworth has a state-record 50-game winning streak.