Diablos' Rally Falls Short in 10-7 Loss to Redlands East Valley

The Redlands East Valley Wildcats had one thing in mind Friday night at Ted Runner Stadium on the campus of the University of Redlands: To make a name for themselves.

Mission accomplished.

Capitalizing on two pivotal, game-changing turnovers, the Wildcats shocked the Southern California high school football world with a hard-fought 10-7 upset of Mission Viejo, a team ranked anywhere from 15th to 31st in America according to several national publications including ESPN Rise, and Maxpreps.com.

"This is huge," Redlands East Valley senior safety Trevor Douglass said. "Mission Viejo crushed us last year. They're fifth ranked in the state, fifteenth in the country, and now, we're known. We're known for beating that team right here."

Playing without the services of bruising USC-bound tailback Jahleel Pinner, as well as starting center, Kevin Carroll, who were both sidelined with ankle sprains, Mission Viejo found the sledding difficult Friday night, managing only 71 yards on the ground -- 29 in the first half.

The Diablos punted on their first four drives, then ended their fifth with 44 seconds left in the second quarter at the Redlands East Valley goal line, where Daniel Gonzales intercepted an Alex Bridgford pass, preserving the first-half shutout and leading the Wildcats into the locker room up 10-0.

Bridgford finally ignited Mission Viejo's dormant offense with a 27-yard connection with Max Redfield (six catches, 105 yards) at the start of the drive, but it didn't come until moments after a Wildcat punt had careened off Redfield's ankle in punt return coverage, setting off a mad scramble for the muffed punt, which ended up in the arms of junior linebacker Tanner Shreve in the end zone.

The Wildcat touchdown came four minutes after David Massuere had broken a scoreless tie with a 21-yard field goal.

"We could have played better on both sides," Mission Viejo senior linebacker Ryan Harris said. "Just a couple of mistakes here and there. That punt return really messed us up, giving them the momentum."

Redfield got the Diablos off on the right foot defensively in the second half, picking off Austin Decoud (8-of-14 passing, 74 yards) on Mission Viejo's 19, but after the Diablos worked nearly an entire quarter off the clock on their ensuing drive, they failed to end it with a score.

Starting with a first-and-goal at the Redlands East Valley five-yard line, Mission Viejo ran four straight runs, with the fourth and final coming just inches short of the goal line.

The Diablos' defense stiffened in the second half, allowing only three Wildcat first downs and forcing three-and-outs on Redlands East Valley's final three drives, which allowed Bridgford and his offense the window they would need to pull off a comeback.

With backup tailback Marcus Collins struggling to find lanes in the first half, Mission Viejo turned the running duties over to backup quarterback Brett Tenhoff in the second. Tenhoff finished with 38 yards in 15 carries, and made it 10-7 with 5:12 left when he ran in a score from three yards.

The touchdown was set up on the drive's first play when Bridgford (11-of-25, 211 yards) found Brandon Neville over leaping coverage on a seam route good for 49 yards to the Wildcats' six.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Diablos got the ball back with 2:58 left and a couple of timeouts to burn. Bridgford started the drive with a 22-yard connection to Redfield, then sailed a ball out of bounds on a pass intended for Austin Reuland.

After finding Neville a drive earlier, Bridgford went back to him on second down, except this time, Redlands East Valley countered with double coverage.  The deep pass was on target, but was swatted away by cornerback Stefen Kirkland and into the waiting arms of Douglass at the 10-yard line.

"My boy Stefen Kirkland made a great play on that," Douglass said. "He popped it up, and I was just there to make the play. My grandmother, she died a couple of weeks ago. After that play, I pointed up to her. She helped me out with that, and I love her so much."

Mission Viejo's final drive came up short as time expired when Bridgford couldn't find Redfield in the corner of the end zone from 28 yards out.

"You know, it's just a hard loss," Harris said. "We just have to bounce back and come into league firing."

With the loss, Mission Viejo finished an incredibly rigorous nonleague schedule at 3-2, and will now gear up for what promises to be an equally challenging South Coast League docket, starting next Friday with a trip to Dana Hills.

Redlands East Valley (5-0) hosts Miller of Fontana next Friday at the University of Redlands.

GAME STATISTICS

                                         1     2     3     4   --   T

Mission Viejo                    0     0     0     7   --   7

Redlands East Valley        0   10     0     0   --  10


                                      MV             REV

First Downs                    14               8
Rushing Yards                71              86
Passing Yards                211             74
Total Net Yards              282            160
Turnovers                        3                1
Penalties-Yards             6-35           6-38


SCORING

2nd Quarter

REV -- David Massuere 21 field goal, 6:28
REV -- Tanner Shreve 0 fumble recovery; Massuere kick, 2:46

4th Quarter

MV -- Brett Tenhoff 3 run; Zach Christensen kick, 5:12