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HUNTINGTON BEACH — As Mission Viejo’s football team broke huddle for the final time at the Battle at the Beach passing tournament Saturday, quarterback Luke Fahey congratulated his teammates and offered a challenge.
“This is just the beginning!” he shouted.
The Diablos’ season kicks off in about six weeks, but once it arrives, they’ll have a few additional contributors.
Mission Viejo showcased its depth by capturing the Battle at the Beach despite missing five key players.
Fahey tossed three touchdowns and Jordan Hicks had an interception as the Diablos defeated Mission Hills of San Marcos 23-6 in the championship game at Edison High.
“With all the guys we’re missing, (are) you kidding me?” said Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson, whose team claimed the tournament for the second consecutive year.
“Even though we had a bunch of guys out, when you a run program (in which) we start working with these kids in seventh and eighth grade (in 4 Vertical) … you’re able to (overcome injuries and sickness).”
“You want to develop your depth,” the coach added. “Obviously you don’t want guys to get hurt but because they are, it allows us to get other guys in. … I’m so proud of our guys.”
With Fahey leading the offense and Brady Bowman and Hicks continuing to rise on defense, Mission Viejo won its third tournament title in three months for a 7-on-7 “Triple Crown” of sorts.
The Diablos claimed the Millikan and South County tournaments in May and June, respectively.
Fahey, who recently committed to Ohio State, gave Mission Viejo a 6-0 lead against Mission Hills with a short TD pass to Luke Karby. The 6-foot-4 junior made a diving catch in the end zone.
After Penn State commit Troy Huhn of Mission Hills tossed a touchdown to tight end Perrin Blankenship, the Diablos responded with a blitz of highlights.
Fahey found senior running back Davonte Curtis for a short touchdown strike near the front corner of the end zone.
Hicks, a sophomore cornerback, followed with an interception to push the lead to 16-6.
Fahey recorded his third TD pass by finding junior running back Dallas Miller in the flat. Fahey set up the score with a long strike to sophomore wide out KJ Woodbury.
Mission Viejo raced to the title while playing without wide receiver Vance Spafford (sick), cornerback Jeron Jones (fractured wrist), safeties Sawyer Thomson (knee) and Zachary Foeldi (knee) and wide receiver Max Markofski (hip).
The Diablos revamped secondary featured Myles Lassiter, Colin Burke and Hicks at corner. Ryder Brown, Aidan Smith and JoJo Reed patrolled at safety.
Bowman, a middle linebacker, highlighted a victory against Millikan in pool play with an interception.
The Diablos went 21-0 en route to its Triple Crown of passing tournaments.
They open their season against Santa Margarita on Aug. 22 in one of the most anticipated games of the campaign.
“Seven on seven is just T-shirt and (underwear) as one of my coaches says,” Fahey said. “This is just the beginning for us. We have a whole season ahead of us, and I can’t be more excited to get ready to play tackle football again.”
In the semifinals, Mission Viejo edged Cathedral of Los Angeles 26-25 on a late touchdown pass from Fahey to Curtis.
Corona del Mar and quarterback Brady Annett made a surprising run to the semifinals before falling to Mission Hills 29-24.
The Sea Kings finished 3-1 to take second in their group behind Mission Viejo.
In the quarterfinal, Corona del Mar edged Lincoln — the runner-up at the Millikan tournament — in overtime on a catch by senior Dorsett Stecker.
In late June, Corona del Mar went 0-4 at the Brave 8 hosted by St. John Bosco.
“Our whole team has been balling out,” said Stecker, who emerged as one of the top receivers at Edison. “We definitely had something to prove being underdogs the whole time, and we proved to a lot of people that we’re not a team to mess around with.”
Annett connected with Garrett James on a back-shoulder fade to give the Sea Kings an 18-14 lead against Mission Hills.
Annett, a senior coming off a shoulder surgery, also found success throwing to wide receiver David Soto on Saturday.
“He had a great day,” Corona del Mar coach Kevin Hettig said of his QB. “Our kids are doing a good job of just putting their head down and getting better.”
In the Ocean View tournament, San Juan Hills defeated Downey 28-14 in the final for their second tournament title of the offseason.
The Stallions were led by quarterback Timmy Herr, who wasn’t intercepted and tossed multiple TDs to Luke Frith, Ryan Matheson and Dean Kolasinski.
In May, San Juan Hills won the Air Strike tournament hosted by Dana Hills.
