PREP FOOTBALL : South Coast League : Dana Hills Has Its Moment, Upsets No. 9 El Toro

You can believe that the El Toro High School, ranked ninth in Orange County and leading the South Coast League, hated being upset by lowly Dana Hills, 7-3, Thursday at Mission Viejo Stadium.

But the result was an even bigger emotional event for the Dolphins (1-2, 3-4), who scored the game’s only touchdown on fullback Mike Singleton’s 65-yard run in the second quarter.

For the Dolphins, it was the kind of night that makes a high school career--even one spent at Dana Hills--worthwhile.

Coming into the game, Dana Hills was tied for fourth place with Laguna Hills in the six-team league.

But after beating El Toro (3-1, 4-3), the Dolphins’ hopes were revived and they even talked about the possibility of making the playoffs.

“This is the biggest win in Dana Hills history,” said Dolphin flanker Matt Raith.

Dana Hills tackle Darran Baird said, “This is the greatest win of my life. We’re going to sleep very well tonight . . . Actually, I’m probably not going to be able to sleep at all.”

In the south county, the 6-foot 5-inch, 250-pound Baird was not likely to be the only person facing a sleepless night Thursday. El Toro Coach Bob Johnson may have trouble forgetting the image of the Dolphin defense, which pulled off a crucial second-quarter goal line stand and continued on to sack his quarterback--his son, Bret--six times.

The key to the Dolphins’ plan was to pressure Bret Johnson, according to Raith.

“He’s just a sophomore and he’s an inexperienced quarterback,” he said. “We stuck him.”

Certainly Johnson’s line was not consistently able to give him enough protection against the likes of Dolphin guards Tom Schooler and Pete Snyder, who came crashing in like unwelcome guests at an exclusive party, hurling their host to the ground. The line was ably abetted by defensive back Chris Bonas, who swatted away several Johnson passes.

But Johnson remained poised under pressure, completing 11 of 24 passes for 143 yards. He never conceded anything until the last 21 seconds of the game, when he threw a game-ending interception on second-and-10 at the Dolphin 25-yard line.

That was after Johnson had just completed four passes and run the ball to help the Chargers on a 55-yard desperation drive with a minute left.

The final passes were last-hope attempts to find his favorite receiver, Chris Bailey, in the left corner of the end zone.

On the final pass, Bailey and the football alike fell in a mass of arms and legs between two Dolphin defenders. But it was Dana Hills’ Victor Vurpillat who rose triumphantly clutching the ball, the symbol of Dana Hills’ achievement.

The victory was special for Dolphin Coach Don Douglass, whose four sons played football at El Toro.

“I would say our defense deserves the accolades,” he said. Then Douglass looked up at the scoreboard once more, with wonderment.

“Three points,” he said. “For us that’s quite an evening, to hold a team like El Toro to three points.”