The CIF Southern Section high school football finals have arrived, but only one team from inside the Valley News coverage area will get the chance at winning that elusive title of champion. Orange Vista will be making their second appearance in the section finals after piling on the points in their 63-46 victory over Western in their CIF Southern Section Division 5 semifinal game. In 2018, the Coyotes were the Division 13 runner-up to Adelanto.
In their semifinal matchup the Coyotes scored touchdowns on their first two plays from scrimmage to grab a quick double-digit lead, and really never looked back. Sire Gaines paved the way on offense, rushing for 222 yards and five touchdowns on seventeen carries and catching two balls for another fifty-one yards. In a game where Orange Vista racked up 580 total yards of offense, Coyote QB Abdul-Aziz completed did some major damage completing 17 of 21 passes for 266 yard and two touchdowns. The No. 2-seeded Coyotes (10-3) will make the trip to top-seeded Newbury Park (10-3) for the Division 5 championship, which will be played Saturday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m.
The three other local teams that made it to the semifinal round included Hemet, Murrieta Mesa, and Murrieta Valley. Hemet’s Division 10 game was a defensive showdown against Torrance that ended in a 10-7 loss for the Bulldogs while both Murrieta teams jumped out in front of their games, but neither team could hang on for the win.
Trailing by ten points at halftime, Mira Costa outscored host Murrieta Mesa 27-7 in the second half to lead the Mustangs to a 34-24 victory over the Rams in the CIF Southern Section Division 6 semifinals. Julian Silva completed 23 of 37 passes for 287 yards, Gilos Lindsey was Silva’s top target with seven receptions for 135 yards and one touchdown while CJ Moran was the ground attacker with two touchdowns on the night. Murrieta Mesa, who was looking to reach its first title game in school history, finished the season at 6-7 overall.
In a battle of the MV’s, Murrieta Valley came out swinging against Mission Viejo in their CIF-Southern Section Division 2 semifinal bout. The Nighthawks took a 14-3 lead into halftime, but knew the game was still too close for comfort. And it was. The Diablos would come out and score touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half, then would take a 31-yard interception in for a touchdown to put the Nighthawks on edge.
Murrieta Valley cut Mission Viejo’s lead to three points in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Bear Bachmeier to Camden Connor, but on the next series, Mission Viejo would score on 73-yard touchdown reception to Vance Spafford giving them a 31-21 lead. With time winding down, Bachmeier, with a blitz in play, would give up the ball on a tipped pass and Mission Viejo would reap the reward of holding on to the football as the clock ran out. Murrieta Valley (9-4), who were seeking their second berth in a CIF championship game and their first victory against the Diablos in four meetings, finished the season with a 9-4 record. Senior RB, Asa Chatman, had one TD and rushed for 161 yards on twenty-two carries while Bachmeier had 101 rushing yards with a TD and completed seven of fourteen passes for sixty-nine yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions.
*All stats, schedules, photos, and scores are supplied by local high school athletic directors, MaxPreps, CIF-SS offices, contributing writers/photographers and countless fans of the games via social media.
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