SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : DIVISION III : Ekdahl, Mission Viejo Roll Along

After watching his team trounce Warren High School in a first-round game of the Southern Section Division III football playoffs Friday night, Mission Viejo Coach Mike Rush stood on the sidelines, enjoying a moment of vindication.

Rush, you see, had heard earlier in the week that the Warren coaching staff didn’t have many good things to say about the Diablos. According to Rush, the Warren coaches insinuated that Mission Viejo--as well as the rest of the South Coast League teams--were, well, wimpy as far as on-field aggressiveness goes.

“They said they didn’t respect our hitting,” Rush said. “And that we came from a league that was weak defensively . . . So that got us a bit riled up.”

Riled? Try ruthless.

Led by another score-a-matic attack from senior Eric Ekdahl (4 touchdowns, 3 extra-point kicks, 1 field goal), Mission Viejo knocked Warren silly, 40-16.

With the victory, Mission Viejo (11-0), the No. 1 seeded team in Division III, advanced to a second-round meeting with El Dorado (6-5), a 24-14 winner over Burbank.

Mission Viejo scored on its first possession, on a 5-yard run by Ekdahl, to take a 6-0 lead. Less than 2 minutes later, Mission Viejo got a safety when Warren punter Scott Yamaski fumbled the snap in the end zone.

It didn’t get any better for Warren. Mission Viejo quarterback Troy Kopp, who completed 12 of 19 passes for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns, picked apart the Warren secondary with little trouble.

Kopp connected with Ekdahl on passes of 14 and 33 yards to set up the Diablos’ second touchdown--a 1-yard hop by Ekdahl, and then hit Ekdahl on a 21-yard pass play to give Mission Viejo a 21-0 lead with 6:56 remaining in the second quarter.

Although the ensuing extra-point attempt was fumbled at the snap, Ekdahl recovered the ball and found Greg Clapper alone in the end zone for the conversion pass.

With 26 seconds remaining in the first half, Ekdahl scored the Diablos’ fourth touchdown on a 1-yard run for a 30-0 lead. Ekdahl added a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter before being replaced.

“The young man shows he can kick, and run and throw the football,” Rush said. “He’s Mr. Everything for us.”

Warren scored on a 33-yard field goal by Yamaski in the third quarter.