MISSION VIEJO — San Clemente used its running game and strong defense to upset Mission Viejo 20-10 on Friday and put itself in good position to win the South Coast League championship.
The Tritons (7-1, 1-0) had a 13-10 lead in the final minutes when cornerback Max Gonzales intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory.
“We were in cover four so I had the deep quarter,” Gonzales said. “I knew they were going to go deep or go to the sticks. I saw him cut out on the comeback and I jumped in front of it and took it to the house.”
San Clemente entered the week ranked No. 8 in the Register’s Top 25 poll and Mission Viejo (5-3, 0-1) entered ranked No. 3.
It was the first win for San Clemente over Mission Viejo since the 2021 spring season, which was shortened due to the pandemic. The winner of this rivalry has won the South Coast League championship 15 consecutive seasons.
Junior Matai Tagoa’i had two big sacks for the San Clemente defense and the duo of Puka Fuimaono and Zeke Rubinstein led the Tritons in tackles.
“We’ve had some good battles over the years,” San Clemente coach Jaime Ortiz said. “We had a good team meeting on Saturday and set the mindset for the week. The kids did a good job responding. It’s great for our kids, community and public schools.”
San Clemente running back Aiden Rubin, who broke the school’s single-game rushing record last week against Ayala, ran for 239 yards on 28 carries with a touchdown.
“I think he’s an All-County candidate and the great thing about him is that as the game goes on, the stronger he gets,” Ortiz said. “He’s a rugby player and he fights for every yard he gets.”
Mission Viejo played good defense for the majority of the game, but multiple personal foul penalties ended drives for the Diablos and put them in bad field position.
Chase Valousky led the Mission Viejo offense with 105 yards on 14 carries. The quarterback duo of Luke Fahey and Draiden Trudeau combined for 133 yards passing.
San Clemente opened the game strong with a 50-yard touchdown run by Rubin on the game’s opening drive to give the Tritons a 7-0 lead.
Michael Salgado-Medina made a 35-yard field goal for the Diablos late in the 1st to cut the lead to 7-3.
Hinesward Lilomaiava ran for a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Mission Viejo a 10-7 lead entering halftime.
After 56 and 24-yard runs from Rubin, Gonzales made a 23-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 late in the third quarter. San Clemente quarterback Dylan Mills converted a huge fourth down attempt on the drive by rolling to his right and running for a 5-yard gain.
Gonzales made another 19-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to give the Tritons a 13-10 lead.
“He does a little bit of everything,” Ortiz said of Gonzales. “He has a 4.7 GPA. Last year he jumped in at nickel for us and this year he’s a starting corner and kicking field goals.”
San Clemente’s special teams made a huge play with just under four minutes remaining in the game. Mission Viejo muffed a punt return and San Clemente junior Xander Rex recovered the fumble in Mission Viejo’s territory.
“That was a big momentum play for us,” Ortiz said. “We knew it was going to be a battle all four quarters and thankfully we came out on top.”
Sophomore Kane Nolte had two sacks for Mission Viejo and Jonavan Asuncion had an interception.
San Clemente will play Capistrano Valley on the road next week.
Mission Viejo will play Tesoro next week. The Diablos haven’t lost to Tesoro since 2008.
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