Mission Viejo's defense held on fourth down deep in its own territory after a bobbled snap with time running out in the fourth. Tulane pledge
Trace Johnson couldn't find a receiver in the back of the end zone and the Diablos took a knee to end the game.
Ohio State commit
Luke Fahey was 15 of 20 passing for 177 yards and a touchdown for Mission Viejo in the matchup of nationally-ranked teams. Wide receiver
Vance Spafford had four catches for 41 yards for the Diablos.
Mission Viejo celebrates its massive win over Santa Margarita in the MaxPreps Game of the Week. (PHOTO: Rene Morales)
and younger brother
Grant Mosley teamed up for 101 yards receiving for Santa Margarita.
Santa Margarita had two big offensive plays negated in the first half due to penalties.
Tyler Wiegand kicked a 23-yard field goal as time expired in the first half for the game's only points through the first two quarters.
The Santa Margarita defense also came up big, stuffing the Mission Viejo offense on four plays inside the five-yard line as
Dash Fifita and
Simote Katoanga made their presence known.
Mission Viejo got on the board toward the end of the third on a one-play, 32-yard drive as Fahey threw a strike to sophomore
Jack Junker for a 7-3 lead.
The MaxPreps Game of the Week is a 12-week initiative launched this season to spotlight some of the biggest high school football matchups in the country. The games are streamed free on MaxPreps.com. Next week's pairing features
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) hosting
Lakeland (Fla.).
Mission Viejo (1-0) travels to
St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) on Friday. Santa Margarita (0-1) hosts head coach Matt Logan and
Centennial (Corona, Calif.), also on Friday.
Ohio State commit Luke Fahey did just enough against a tough Santa Margarita defense to help Mission Viejo prevail in its season opener. (PHOTO: Rene Morales)
Making his head coaching debut, Carson Palmer talks to his team prior to Friday's game. (PHOTO: Rene Morales)
