Weird night in the South Coast League

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Weirdest league on the first night of league play? South Coast, without a doubt:

Mission Viejo 34, Aliso Niguel 14: Both teams lost to Vista by two touchdowns, so maybe this one could have been a little closer. I thought it would be closer. But Aliso hasn’t been healthy, so maybe that had something to do with it. This was the normal game, if a sophomore (Jake Marshall) who hadn’t carried all season running for 162 yards is normal.

Tesoro 16, San Clemente 13: Wow! Is there another word for it? Mission Viejo must be smiling -- giggling, actually -- since its primary challenge figured to come from San Clemente (4-2) next week. Classic case of looking past an opponent and a costly reminder that you have to take care of business one week at a time. A pretty impressive debut at Tesoro for first-year Coach Brian Barnes, son of veteran Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes, who watched Ferras Albitar score with no time remaining on an 80-yard touchdown drive that was extended by a fourth-down pass interference penalty.

Capistrano Valley 0, Dana Hills 0: Dana Hills (0-5-1) has played the toughest schedule in the league and one of the toughest schedules in the Southland. Though winless, I felt the Dolphins would show something in league. They did against Capo (4-1-1), which came into the game with only one loss. But a 0-0 tie? That’s just bizarre. And get this: Capo missed a field goal attempt from 33 yards and, after a defensive penalty, from 28, while Dana drove to the one-yard line but couldn’t score on fourth down. It must have been destiny. Still, the league should have the tie-breaker; when you play only five games, ties serve no useful purpose.

- Martin Henderson