Sports

Football: JSerra 28, Dana Hills 12

Big plays continue to rule the day for JSerra, but Dana Hills gives the Lions plenty to handle.

After a couple of impressive victories, JSerra had a more difficult time with Dana Hills than most would expect. The Lions, who have been much more successful in the second half than the first, used a big third quarter to get some separation en route to a fourth consecutive victory to start the season.

Score: JSerra 28, Dana Hills 12

Key Stats: Nick Robinson completed 12 of 18 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yarder on the game’s first play.

Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Pivotal Moment: Despite giving up the bomb to Pettis and Casey Eugenio’s 52-yard dash that gave JSerra a 14-6 lead, Dana Hills was still in the game. But when a botched punt turned into a 42-yard fumble return by JSerra’s Mitchell Deamon as the clock ran out on the third quarter, it was too much. Bad enough that JSerra will hurt you with big plays on offense, but a TD on special teams is just too much to overcome.

Quotable: “We’re sloppy,” JSerra coach Jim Hartigan told the Orange County Register. “We have to clean up our penalties. We have to obviously be more consistent.  We have to work on controlling the line of scrimmage. … It was just sloppy as far as turnovers and penalties.”

Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Records: JSerra (4-0), Dana Hills (1-4)

Notes: JSerra, it was revealed this week, had previously been ranked in the Orange County top 10, in 2010. The Lions are ranked for the second week in a row, at No. 8. … JSerra still hasn’t become the disciplined team it needs to be in order to succeed in the Trinity League. The Lions committed 14 penalties and three turnovers. … The contest was probably a better performance for Dana Hills, which was burned for an 80-yard scoring reception by Dante Pettis on the first play, then hung in against the Lions. … Pettis followed his touchdown by blocking the extra point on Dana Hills’ first score to protect the lead. The Dolphins pulled to 7-6 on Justin Scott’s 3-yard run. … Dana Hills opened the second half with a good looking drive—the Dolphins took more than seven minutes off the clock—but Brenden Villacreses missed a 40-yard field goal attempt. … JSerra continues to be a team of big plays. Pettis caught a pass for 80 yards, Eugenio ran from 52 to make it 14-6, Mitchell Deamon returned a fumble 42 yards for a 21-6 lead going into the fourth quarter, and Ricky Zak caught a 25-yard pass from Robinson. … Eugenio rushed for 155 yards. Pettis caught four passes for 118. … Mac Vail led Dana Hills with 126 yards passing, and Ted Fitzgerald added 94 yards. … The Dolphins had no ground game; Scott had a team-high 26 yards. … JSerra’s last opponent before beginning Trinity League play is Trabuco Hills (4-1), which is coming off a 28-26 loss to Santa Margarita of the Trinity League. Trabuco, the home team, is ranked fifth in the county top 10. … Dana Hills plays host to Irvine (4-0), which is coming off a 30-13 win over Laguna Hills, which is in the same league as Dana Hills.

TELL US IN THE COMMENTS: What did you think of the game?


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here