Laguna Hills Strikes From Air to Defeat Cougars

Chris Johnson passed for 221 yards and four touchdowns to lead Laguna Hills to a 35-13 nonleague victory over Capistrano Valley Friday night at Mission Viejo High.

Johnson, a junior, threw for two third-quarter touchdowns to wide receiver Brian Anderson to break the game open.

He also hit tight end Daniel Miltenberger with two first-half touchdowns.

The four touchdowns were a career-high for Johnson, who picked up his passing game after learning that leading rusher Matt Chandler would miss the game. Chandler aggravated a hip pointer injury in the Hawks’ victory over Foothill last week.

“I was prepared for Matt to be out,” Johnson said. “But I have to give most of the credit to my wide receivers. They did a lot of running after catching the ball and wanted to get into the end zone.”

Capistrano Valley had success on the ground, with Bryan Peters rushed for 167 yards in 16 carries and a touchdown. But turnovers--seven of them--killed nearly every Cougar drive. The most costly came with five minutes left in the third quarter when Peters fumbled at his own two and the Hawks (3-2) recovered.

After a penalty against Laguna Hills, Johnson hooked up with Anderson for a seven-yard touchdown pass and a 28-7 lead. Laguna Hills piled up 123 yards in the decisive third quarter, while the Cougars managed only 12.

Leading 14-7, Johnson found Anderson on a post pattern five plays into the third quarter. Johnson connected with Anderson at the Capistrano Valley 30 and he went untouched the rest of the way for the score. Anderson finished with six catches for 150 yards.