No. 1 Don Bosco Prep Beats Mission Viejo, 35-7

It was supposed to be a colossal early season matchup between two of the best high school teams in the nation when No. 5 Mission Viejo traveled to Ramsey N.J., to take on the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, Don Bosco Prep.

Instead, it was Don Bosco who dominated from pillar to post by the tune of 35-7, as the combination of running backs John Wilkins, a senior, and sophomore Jabrill Peppers gashed the Diablos for four of Don Bosco’s five touchdowns Saturday night.

"Our offense was outstanding tonight," Don Bosco coach Greg Troal said. "When you run and throw like that, it’s a good combination and good things happen.'

Mission Viejo (1-1) couldn’t get moving offensively against the Ironmen, winners of the last five state titles and 35 games in a row. In the first quarter on a third-and-eight inside Don Bosco territory, quarterback Alex Bridgford suffered the first of what would be four interceptions, with Yuri Wright's pick putting all of the momentum in Don Bosco’s hands.

The Ironmen (1-0) wasted little time in capitalizing on the turnover. Wilkins cut through the Diablos' defense for a 20-yard pickup on first down to move the ball to the Mission Viejo 45. Peppers then got in on the action. First he sprinted off tackle for a 13-yard gain to the Mission Viejo 31. Then he hauled in a screen pass from quarterback Mike Yankovich that went for 10 more yards to the Diablos' 15. Finally, Wilkins capped the drive with a two-yard run that put Don Bosco up 7-0.   

"He’s a great athlete," Troal said of Peppers, who is only 15-years old and started as a freshman for the Ironmen last season. "He made a lot of huge plays offensively."

For Mission Viejo, the contest quickly became an uphill climb. Early in the second quarter, the Diablos had the football at midfield, but Bridgford couldn’t handle the pressure from Don Bosco’s outside linebackers and was sacked twice, killing that drive.            

The best chance Mission Viejo had to get back into the game came midway through the second quarter with the Diablos down only 14-0. Tailback Jahleel Pinner (USC commit) ate up 21 yards on three carries and Bridgford connected with junior wide receiver Max Redfield for a gain of 13 to put the Diablos in field-goal range. However, the drive  fizzled thanks to a couple of incompletions, and the attempted field goal kick by Zach Christensen missed wide left.

It was at this point that Don Bosco truly established itself. The Ironmen proved to be nearly unstoppable on the ground with their two big backs, and defensively, they put tremendous pressure on Bridgford sacking him a total of six times, including once when he fumbled out of bounds.

In the third quarter, Don Bosco put the game away with two lengthy touchdown drives. The first score was set up by Isaiah Hill, who cut through the Diablos' defense and stiff-armed a safety on his way to a 17-yard carry. Hill was not done, carrying the Ironmen to the Mission Viejo 20-yard line with pick-ups of eight and five yards. The drive concluded with a one-yard plunge by Peppers to give the Ironmen a 21-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, after Bridgford had another pass intercepted, Don Bosco's Yankovich hit Hill in stride for a 31-yard gain to the Diablos 15. The Ironmen got the ball close to the goal line, and Mission Viejo’s defense did its best to keep them out of the end zone, but Wilkins was able to nudge the ball over the pylon for a 28-0 lead. 

"This helps our confidence level," Peppers said of the Ironmen's season-opening victory. "We still have to go out and show that we are No. 1."

Though they were getting beaten badly, Mission Viejo didn’t give up.  Bridgford stood in the pocket, took the hits and drove the Diablos down field for their lone score. The senior quarterback hit a wide-open Redfield for 15 yards, then connected with Pinner on a bubble screen for 24 more. Finally, Bridford found Austin Reuland for a 27-yard gain down the sideline to put the ball at the Don Bosco 17.  Bridgford would then thread the needle, connecting again with Redfield over the middle for the touchdown.

Late in the fourth quarter, Don Bosco's Elijah Shumate swept the right side for an 11-yard touchdown run, providing for the contest's final score.

The game began under heavy hearts, as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 was recognized with a short prayer before the playing of taps and the national anthem.

After an eventful week that saw Mission Viejo tour parts of New York, including Ground Zero, and New Jersey, as well as visit the New York Jets training camp, where their former quarterback, Mark Sanchez, was preparing for Sunday's NFL season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys, the final score didn't culminate the trip the way they had hoped it would.

"We're going to schedule good teams," Diablos coach Bob Johnson explained. "Nothing was lost in the long run. We picked this fight. That's why we're back here."

Misson Viejo hopes to get back on track on Friday, when it returns home to meet La Quinta (0-1) in a nonleague game that kicks off at 7 p.m.

(Sports editor's note: Click here to read ESPN New York's account of the game and to see their video clip.)

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