San Juan Hills showcases its stingy defense in victory over Mira Costa

San Juan Hills coach Robert Frith knelt and draped his arm around his quarterback Timmy Herr in the minutes before kickoff in San Juan Capistrano.

The coach and signal-caller prayed — as they do before every game, basking in the calm before the storm. “It clears my body,� Herr said. “No nerves.�

For Mira Costa, the moments of its opposition’s pregame quiet were the only peace it would witness from the Stallions on Friday night. San Juan Hills (4-1) got the lead early and didn’t look back, handing Mira Costa (3-1) its first loss, 28-7. Linebacker Weston Port’s first-quarter, muffed-snap fumble recovery, and Mira Costa’s accidental self-downed punt in its red zone, were just two mishaps leading to Stallion scores.

“There’s a couple of times where we were in really good [field] position,� Frith said. “Our defense is stingy enough that offensively, we’re going to be opportunistic. … Our defense sets the tone and then the offense goes from there.�

Herr, a junior, tossed for 160 yards on 14-of-16 passing and finished with 42 rushing yards, tallying two touchdowns in the air and one on the ground. In the second quarter, after penalties drove San Juan Hills from the 14-yard line to the 40, Herr connected with senior wide receiver Jake Vuoso for a touchdown to jump out to a 21-0 halftime lead.

San Juan Hills quarterback Timmy Herr completed 14 of 16 passes for 160 yards in Friday’s win over Mira Costa.

(Benjamin Royer / For The Times)

With a then-three-score lead, the Stallions drained the clock with a ground-and-pound-centric approach. Herr later strolled into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown run to bump San Juan Hills’ advantage to 28 halfway into the third quarter.

“It’s good to be balanced, and Timmy did a good job tonight putting the ball on hands with plenty of time,� Frith said. “When we line up, we could have three running backs in the backfield. Just one of them does a really good job throwing the football too.�

Mira Costa had just one third-quarter drive and stalled in the San Juan Hills red zone twice in the fourth quarter, leading to two turnovers on downs. The Stallions’ senior-led defense kept Mustangs junior quarterback Liam Meeker, who is filling in for the injured Nicolas De La Cruz, constantly on the chase with their physicality.

Whether it was nose guard Gavin Blum, linebacker Greg Blomdahl or Port, the consistent pressure drove Meeker to tally just 163 passing yards on 31 attempts because Mira Costa’s run game was struggling.

All three Stallions tallied a tackle for loss Friday, while Blum sacked Meeker once.

Port, a 6-foot-2, 228-pound UCLA commit, pointed to his defensive teammates for the effort they’ve put in through five games.

San Juan Hills has allowed 10 or fewer points in three contests.

“We got a ton of pride in our Stallion defense,� Port said. “[Defense has] always been the focal point of our team. Everything comes through how our defense plays and our offense feeds off of that.�