Tritons Grind Down Trabuco Hills, 43-14, in South Coast League Opener

San Clemente coach Jon Hamro refers to his swarming defense as a group of sharks.

What then to dub the offense?

After Friday night's 43-14 dismantling of Trabuco Hills on the opening night of South Coast League play, a San Clemente victory powered by a stylish rushing attack that churned out 347 yards, the Tritons' three-headed backfield monster could be labeled a "Beast."

Mike Elespuru ran for 128 yards in 17 carries, including first down runs of 20, 15, 16, 15, and 17 yards, and put on a 49-yard, tackle-breaking clinic for a touchdown that was called back by a clipping flag.

Herbert Gamboa only touched the ball three times but turned in 40 yards, including a 29-yard run that opened the scoring with five minutes left in the second quarter. Gamboa, who doubles as a bruising linebacker on defense, flattened Trabuco Hills safety Mathew Kirkland on his way to the end zone.

Then there was the diminutive Nick Pasquale, all 5-feet-9, 175 pounds of him, turning in a performance that could've made Barry Sanders blush. San Clemente's fleet-footed scat back scored in jaw-dropping, juke-and-jive fashion on runs of 35 and 14 yards, and took a 48-yard screen from quarterback Travis Wilson to the house, making it 35-6 with 7:27 left to play.

"We haven't been practicing well the past two weeks, and, as a result of our bad play, we knew that we had to come out with league starting and make a statement," said Pasquale, who added an interception to his epic performance at the start of the third quarter with his squad up 14-0.

Three minutes later, Pasquale dove over the pylon at the end of a 14-yard burst around the left edge to give the Tritons a three-touchdown advantage.

"We have an awesome deal going on right now with our [running] backs," he said. "All three of us have different styles. We have Herbert, who loves to run guys over, and Mike, who's kind of balanced, and I feel like I'm a little finesse. We have all three facets of the run game down, and it's really effective."

Indeed.

San Clemente (7-0 overall, 1-0 in league), a team led by Travis Wilson, a future Pac-12 quarterback at Utah, ran for 248 yards and 11 first downs in the first half. Wilson attempted only three throws in the first two quarters, and ended the evening with 102 passing yards on five completions.

"It was a great time tonight," Pasquale said.

The same could not be said for Trabuco Hills senior tailback Mitchell Simonsen (21 carries, 80 yards) and the Mustangs' offense, which turned the ball over twice, both leading to San Clemente touchdowns, and managed only five first downs in the first 24 minutes.

Jonathan Newsom finished the night with 164 yards through the air on 12-of-18 passing, and hooked up with Alex Staff on an 18-yard, broken-play improvisation in which the junior quarterback rolled out of the pocket and threw a fade that Staff leaped over coverage to grab.

The score was too little too late, however, as it made it 35-14 with four minutes left. San Clemente capped the contest with a safety as the Mustangs snapped a punt attempt out of the back of the end zone, then allowed Christian Tober to return the ensuing kickoff 52 yards for a score as time expired.

Much of the Mustangs 291 total yards came after the contest was already decided, a sign of heart from Newsom and his offense. Trabuco Hills' signal-caller made it 28-6 with 8:45 left in the fourth with a two-yard run, the culmination of a seven-play, 80-yard drive that cost a little under two minutes from the play clock.

"It starts tomorrow," Simonsen answered when asked how the Mustangs (5-2 overall, 0-1 in league) would regroup. "We need to lift harder. We gotta get stronger, we gotta get faster. We have to tackle better. We have to keep playing."

Trabuco Hills, currently ranked No. 12 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division coaches' poll, will look to bounce back with a trip to Tesoro next Friday night. Meanwhile, No. 3 San Clemente will look to keep it rolling at home on Friday, when Dana Hills and a few familiar faces on the Dolphins' coaching staff make their return to Thalassa Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

GAME STATISTICS

                                  1     2     3     4   --   T

San Clemente           0    14    7    22  --   43

Trabuco Hills             0     0     0    14  --   14



                                     SC              TH

First Downs                   20               14
Rushing Yards              347              127
Passing Yards               102              164
Total Net Yards             449              291
Turnovers                       0                 2
Penalties-Yards            7-62             4-20

SCORING

2nd Quarter

SC -- Herbert Gamboa 29 run; Bret Miller kick, 5:04
SC -- Nick Pasquale 35 run; Miller kick, 1:37

3rd Quarter

SC -- Pasquale 14 run; Miller kick, 7:23

4th Quarter

SC -- Travis Wilson 1 run; Miller kick, 10:23
TH -- Jonathan Newsom 2 run; kick blocked, 8:45
SC -- Pasquale 48 pass from Wilson; Miller kick, 7:27
TH -- Alex Staff 18 pass from Newsom; Cole Breeland 2 pass from Newsom, 4:30
SC -- San Clemente safety, :10
SC -- Christian Tober 52 yard kickoff return, :00