San Juan Hills coach Robert Frith knelt and put his arm around quarterback Timmy Herr minutes before tipoff in San Juan Capistrano.
The coach and the announcer were praying, as they do before every game, enjoying the calm before the storm. “It cleanses my body,” Herr said. “No nerves.”
For Mira Costa, the moments of calm against the opposition were the only peace they would witness from the Stallions on Friday night. San Juan Hills (4-1) took an early lead and never looked back, handing Mira Costa (3-1) its first loss, 28-7. Weston Port’s linebacker’s fumble in the first quarter, a fumble recovery and Mira Costa’s fumble in the red zone were the only two mishaps that led to Stallion scores.
“There were times when we were really good (field) position,” Frith said. “Our defense is stingy enough to be opportunistic on offense… Our defense sets the tone and then the offense takes over from there.”
Herr, a junior, threw for 160 yards on 14-of-16 passing and 42 yards rushing, accounting for two touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. In the second quarter, after penalties pushed San Juan Hills back to the 40 from the 14-yard line, Herr connected with wide receiver Jake Vuoso for a 21-0 lead.
Timmy Herr completed 16 of San Juan Hills’ 14 passes for 160 yards in Friday’s win over Mira Costa.
(Benjamin Royer/For The Times)
With that three-point lead, the Stallions ran out the clock with a ground-and-pound approach. Herr later raced into the end zone for a six-yard run to increase San Juan Hills’ lead to 28 midway through the third quarter.
“It’s good to be balanced and Timmy did a good job tonight of putting the ball in his hands and putting in a lot of time,” Frith said. “When we line up, we could run three backs. Only one of them does a good job of playing football.”
Mira Costa had just one third quarter and made two stops in San Juan Hills’ red zone in the fourth quarter, leading to two turnovers. The Stallions’ top defense kept Mustangs rookie Liam Meeker, replacing the injured Nicholas De La Cruz, in constant physical pursuit.
Whether it was nose guard Gavin Bloom, Greg Blomdahl or Port, constant pressure kept Meeker to just 163 yards on 31 attempts as Mira Costa’s running game struggled.
All three Stallions faced one loss on Friday, with Bloom dismissing Meeker once.
Port, a 6-foot-2, 228-pound UCLA player, credited his defensive teammates for their efforts through five games.
San Juan Hills has allowed 10 points or fewer in three games.
“We’re proud of our Stallion defense,” Port said. “(Defense has) always been the central focus of our team. It’s all about how our defense plays and our offense feeds off of that.”
