Tesoro punter Zach Bevan pinned San Clemente in at its own 4-yard line with a nice 37-yard punt. It looked like San Clemente was in big trouble, facing an 11-point deficit with less than 7 minutes to go.

But Duke DeLancelotti found his favorite target, Graham Tenney, for a 34-yard gain and the Tritons were in business. San Clemente was facing a third-and-9 at Tesoro’s 48, but couldn’t convert. So they went for it on fourth down. DeLancelotti connected with guess who? You already know who. That’s right, Grant Tenney made the catch and run for a 35-yard gain to the Tesoro 12-yard line.

DeLancelotti threw a 9-yard pass to DJ Gallegos for a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. David Espino scored on the next play. The Tritons went 96 yards in nine plays to make it 28-23 with 4:15 left. The Tritons went for two and Lancelotti’s pass to Tyler Wilde was incomplete, so the score remained 28-23.

Tesoro needs a long drive that gobbles up some time off the clock, and they certainly are capable of accomplishing that.

Tesoro was facing a third-and-3 at their own 38 before getting a delay of game penalty. Now, it was third-and-8. San Clemente absolutelty needs a stop. DL Jake Smith got the pressure on Picazzo and batted down the pass to force the punt.

Tesoro’s Zach Bevan shanked his punt out of bounds. San Clemente takes over at its own 47 with 2:25 left.

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Tesoro started the second half against San Clemente the same way it did against Mission Viejo last week.

The Titans got a 37-yard kick return by Zach Mitchell, then put together a 6-play, 57-yard scoring drive. Preston King got some nice YAC after catching a couple of passes from Robbie Picazzo to help the Titans move down the field quickly.

Adam Albitar capped the drive with a shifty 17-yard TD run to give Tesoro a 28-10 advantage.

The Tritons need to respond, because this game is in danger of slipping away from them. And, of course, San Clemente isn’t going without a fight.

San Clemente came back with a 9-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Duke DeLancelotti  hooked up with Graham Tenney (We’ve named that duo a lot tonight) over the middle on a slantthat went for 38 yards to get the Tritons deep into Tesoro territory. Then David Espino capped it with a burst up the middle that went for a 16-yard TD. The Tritons cut the lead to 28-17 with 4:12 left.

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San Clemente’s out-sized defense found something late in the first quarter and it has carried it into the second quarter.

The Tritons are shooting the gaps and blitzing off the corners to create a ton of pressure on Tesoro QB Robbie Picazo. OLB Jack Anderson has been the one leading the charge for the Tritons. Anderson is listed at 5-10 and 195 pounds, but that might be a little generous. Still, he is doing damage.

Tesoro might have a Pac-10-sized offensive line, but they are getting beat off the blocks by San Clemente’s speed.

Tesoro’s defense has been just as effective as it was last week against Mission Viejo. Led by the linebacking corps of John Michael Davis, Jake Warden and Scott Graves, the Titans have been holding San Clemente down.

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It’s going to be a long night for the Tritons’ secondary if Tesoro’s first possession was any indication.

Tesoro QB Robbie Picazo’s first pass attempt got dropped by Brett Gudim, but it would have gone for a big gain because he was wide open with a lot of real estate in front of him.

Picazo’s second pass attempt, which was Tesoro’s second play from scrimmage, went for a 73-yard touchdown to Preston King. Again the Tritons pass coverage was very sketchy.

The Titans got called for an unsportsmanlike penalty for over-celebrating the TD. That left Tesoro kicker Ian Sellar with a 35-yard PAT. No problem for Sellar, who split the uprights to give the Titals a 7-0 lead with 9:33 left in the opening quarter.

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Dan Albano and I, a.k.a. the notorious A-Team, covered Tesoro’s 31-14 triumph over then-No. 1 Mission Viejo last week in front of 5,000 at Tesoro High.

The A-Team is back on the scene covering the “Game of the Night,” and once again it involves Tesoro. The No. 2 Titans won’t have homefield advantage this time. Tesoro (6-0, 1-0) travels to the southern most part of the county to face No. 8 San Clemente (6-0, 1-0) at Thalassa Stadium.

San Clemente gets great support from its community and always fills its side of the stadium, and, of course, San Clemente has the best BBQ in the county.

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Everybody came to sold-out Tesoro High to see the No. 7 Titans take on the top-ranked Diablos in what was supposed to be a South Coast League shootout between two of the county’s top offenses.

And Mission Viejo was heavily favored to avenge last season’s loss to Tesoro.

But what we got was a well-prepared Tesoro team under the direction of second-year coach Brian Barnes that beat Bob Johnson’s Diablos, 31-14, for the second straight season.

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The  Titans got two interceptions in the third quarter, but were unable to turn those turnovers into points. Tesoro had the opening drive of the second half and since then the offense has stagnated.

It’s impossible to hold Mission Viejo’s offense at bay forever, and the Diablos scored on their first possession of the first quarter with a 4-play, 65-yard drive. Allan Bridgford got nailed as he let loose with a beautiful pass that hit Joey Branker in stride for a 33-yard TD.

That cut Tesoro’s lead to 28-14 with 8:23 left in the game.

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 Tesoro opens the second half with a 12-play,80-yard scoring drive. All but three of the plays came on the ground.

We talked about Tesoro’s huge O-Line, and now we have to give props to Isaac “The Human Bowling Ball” Tago. The 5-10, 215-pound Tago is an absolute bruiser. Not only is the O-Line busting open holes, but then Tago comes blasting through leading the way out of the I-formation for Zach Mitchell.

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After a woeful first quarter by both teams, Tesoro came alive in the second quarter to forge a 21-7 lead over the top-ranked Diablos by halftime.

On defense, it was the Titan linebackers confusing the Diablos with their blitz packages. Scott Graves and John Michael Davis were leading the charge in that area. Jake Warden was also getting after Bridgford. The Titans only recorded one sack and that was a huge hit by DE Tanner Hodgdon, but they got in a ton of hits and knockdowns on Bridgford.

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Who woulda thunk it?

Two of the most high-powered offenses and two of the top quarterbacks in the county and we have a 0-0 tie after one quarter of play.

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It’s two hours before kickoff and Tesoro officials open the gates to the stadium.

The students and parents on the Tesoro side make a mad dash to secure the best seats in the house. The bleachers are literally shaking.

In less than 60 seconds the Tesoro side is nearly full. I look up and the Mission Viejo side is half full. That’s probably because the Diablos faithful are probably still trying to find parking. That is going to be a nightmare.

The Diablo players make their way onto the field and are greeted by a chorus of boos from the Titan fans. The Diablos have entered “Titan Territory” as it said on signs all the way into the stadium.

This is a playoff-like atmosphere out here.

I can’t wait for the kickoff. I’ll be providing quarter-by-quarter analysis of Mission Viejo vs. Tesoro all night.

Stay tuned OCVarsity-maniacs …