Mission Viejo went from ball-control offense to big-play offense over the course of Saturday’s game against host Kamehameha.
Drai Trudeau completed nine of 14 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, and Vance Spafford caught a pair of touchdown passes as the Diablos beat the Warriors 41-7.
“Our stars played like stars tonight and that’s what we expect,” Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson said.
The key sequence of the game came when the Warriors scored on the opening drive of the second half when backup quarterback Ezra Forges connected with Nui Kaapana on a 13-yard shovel pass, which made it 13-7 after Madden Aquino made the PAT kick.
The Diablos answered on the next play from scrimmage on Trudeau’s 80-yard pass to Spafford, which made it 20-7 with 7:32 to go in the third quarter.
“We had it schemed up. That was the first play we were going to do,” Spafford said. “We already knew what was going to happen. We knew what coverage we were going to get. The touchdown was in our game plan.”
Mission Viejo extended the lead to 41-7 on Trudeau’s 38-yard pass to Phillip Bell with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter, Ryder Brown’s 55-yard interception return with 6:19 remaining and Kale’ Murphy’s 21-yard pass to Luke Karby with 1:57 to go.
“Hat’s off to them. They executed. We didn’t and they broke the game open,” Kamehameha coach Kaeo Drummondo said.
The Diablos had three interceptions.
“The defense played really well. They only got seven points. We scored 41 and we had a bunch of interceptions, including one for a touchdown,” Johnson said
Mission Viejo is ranked No. 7 in the California Preseason MaxPreps Top 25, released Friday.
The Diablos’ top prospect is senior defensive back Dijon Lee, who made the Preseason MaxPreps All-America Team on defense. The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder has committed to Alabama.
“When you play against a team that presents this type of physical challenge and team speed and great athletes, definitely helps you,” Drummondo said. “It helps us get ready for the ILH. We play similar teams. That’s why we scheduled the game.”
Last season, Mission Viejo finished 13-3 en route to winning the CIF State Division 1-AA championship.
Notable Diablos alumni are quarterbacks Jordan Palmer (2002 graduate) and Mark Sanchez (2005).
Mission Viejo started the game’s opening drive from the 20 after a touchback. The Diablos wound up turning the ball over on downs after running 16 plays, covering 70 yards and taking 7:36 off the clock.
Mission Viejo forced Kamehameha to punt on its first possession, and the Diablos scored on Hinesward Lilomaiava’s 3-yard run on the final play of the first quarter. Isaiah Murguia’s PAT kick made it 7-0.
Mission Viejo started with a heavy dose of running plays and short passes, which kept Kamehameha’s offense off the field.
The Diablos were aggressive on fourth down. They converted a fourth-and-1 from their 29 on the opening drive and a fourth-and-5 from their 41 on their third possession.
Mission Viejo opened up the offense on its final drive of the first half with Luke Fahey Jr. hitting Cash Semonza for 34- and 41-yard completions. They were Semonza’s first two receptions of the game.
The Diablos went up 13-0 with seven seconds remaining before halftime on Fahey’s 5-yard pass to Spafford on fourth down. The PAT kick was blocked.
The Warriors only ran 19 plays on their three first-half possessions.
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At Kunuiakea Stadium
Mission Viejo (1-0) 7 6 7 21 — 41
Kamehameha (1-1) 0 0 7 0 — 7
MSV—Hinesward Lilomaiava 3 run (Isaiah Murguia kick)
MSV—Vance Spafford 5 pass from Luke Fahey (kick blocked)
KS—Nui Kaapana 13 pass from Ezra Forges (Madden Aquino kick)
MSV—Spafford 80 pass from Drai Trudeau (Murguia kick)
MSV—Phillip Bell 38 pass from Trudeau (Murguia kick)
MSV— Ryder Brown 55 interception return (Murguia kick)
MSV— Luke Karby 21 pass from Kale’ Murphy (Murguia kick)
RUSHING—Mission Viejo: Lilomaiava 12-38, Davonte Curtis Jr. 4-35, Will Taylor 3-20, Trudeau 2-15, Fahey 4-11, Spafford 1-10, Bell 1-(minus 1), team 1-(minus 5).
Kamehameha: Maddox Sharrer 3-30, Nainoa Melchor 12-24, Jevin Bolos-Reyes 4-6, team 1-(minus 2), Forges 4-(minus 12), Pono Kahaulelio 4-(minus 15).
PASSING—Mission Viejo: Trudeau 9-14-0-172, Fahey 5-9-0-96, Murphy 1-21. Kamehameha: Forges 12-18-2-117, Kahaulelio 4-7-0-38, Bolos-Reyes 3-4-1-33.
RECEIVING—Mission Viejo: Spafford 5-102, Cash Semonza 2-75, Bell 3-57, Karby 1-21, Davonte Curtis 2-17, Dijon Lee 1-9, Lilomaiava 1-8. Kamehameha: Taimane Purcell 6-68, Kaapana 3-34, Eisen Pirga 5-34, Melchor 2-23, Noah Aki 1-15, Hazyn Botelho 1-8, Bless Cabrera-Hopkins 1-6.
