The Diablos led the Cougars for most of the Div. II-AA championship game until the fourth quarter. Ventura rallied and eventually won in overtime 56-55.
It felt like a road game for Mission Viejo since Capistrano Valley’s student section was out in full force jeering on their rivals from the South Coast league.
Chants of “We hate Mission,” along with the standard “defense” chants of Ventura’s student section might have rattled some teams, but not the Diablos, according to their head coach Troy Roelen.
“We don’t get rattled by that stuff,” Roelen said. “You saw us at the free throw line. We were calm, but a play here or there and we would’ve been right in it.”
After the game, a Ventura school official instructed the Cougars to acknowledge the rabid Capo fans. The reaction was one of the loudest of the night.
What was supposed to be a neutral site, turned out to be a jungle full of black and yellow Cougars.
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