SAN MARCOS — The punters sat idle as Mission Hills’ Troy Huhn and La Costa Canyon’s Quinn Roth went throw-for-throw Friday night in a heavyweight battle of unbeatens to open Avocado League play.
With more than 1,000 fans in attendance — including Penn State head coach James Franklin, on hand to watch future Nittany Lion Huhn — the Game of the Week lived up to the hype. No. 3 Mission Hills edged No. 4 La Costa Canyon 35-34 at home, improving to 6-0 and handing the Mavericks their first loss of the season, dropping them to 5-1.
“It was an awesome game to play in,” LCC junior tight end Diego Botron told The Coast News. “The Mission Hills offense was unstoppable, but you could say the same about ours.”
“It was a good game against a great team. I’m just happy to be back with my team,” said Mission Hills sophomore wide receiver Brayden Roberson, making his season debut after being sidelined with a broken hand. He hauled in five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Postgame, adorned in a black Nike sweatshirt with “Penn State” in white lettering across the chest, Huhn described the game to a KUSI reporter as “the best high school football game I’ve ever played in.”
Huhn completed 19 of 21 passes for 231 yards, threw two touchdown passes, and added two rushing touchdowns on QB keepers at the goal line.
“Troy, obviously, is a great leader on the field. He’s got a big job, telling everybody where to go, but he is great at getting the ball into tight spaces, where only the receiver can catch it,” Mission Hills standout senior wide receiver Josh Gonzales told The Coast News prior to the season. “That’s what I’ve noticed about him — his commitment. You can see the talent and the effort going into it.”
Not to be outdone, and fresh off receiving an offer from Western New Mexico, Roth completed 16 of 22 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns.
“Best QB in San Diego — quick trigger, polished passer; gamer; has the ‘IT’ factor, and a great leader,” LCC head coach Sean Sovacool told The Coast News in August.
“As expected, we had breakout performances from Coby Herman and our star QB Quinn Roth, and I’m proud of what we as a team were able to accomplish last night,” said LCC junior linebacker Aiden David, who is out for the season after breaking his hand in two places against Murrieta Mesa. “We had a great competition with one of our top Avocado League rivals and came up just short. Pain and inconveniences aside, the most frustrating part of a serious injury is not being able to suit up and compete with my team.”
Herman, a multi-dimensional back and UC Davis commit, scored twice on the ground and added a 42-yard receiving touchdown on a screen pass. He finished the game with 159 rushing yards and 131 receiving yards.
Mission Hills led 21-14 at the half, but every jab from their offense was met with a parry from the Mavericks.
On the sideline, Sovacool repeatedly told his players all they needed was one stop.
“Unfortunately, we were never able to get that stop,” LCC senior linebacker Henry Mallory said. “Their offense is obviously really good, and they have a great QB running the show with some strong supporting receivers. Overall, I thought it was a great game with an unfortunate result.”
With both offenses moving like a knife through hot butter, Roth found Lennox Marcucci in the back of the end zone with 37 seconds left, bringing the Mavericks within one.
Sovacool went for the win, but Mission Hills’ first defensive stand of the night produced a fumble on the two-point try, sealing the win.
“A lot of respect for La Costa Canyon, definitely one of the best teams we’ve played all year,” said Mission Hills receiver Josh Gonzales. “It was a great team win. Shout out to all my guys, both offense and defense, for giving 100% on every play, and I’m just grateful to be part of this team.”
“Amazing experience to play in a game with that kind of atmosphere,” said Ethan Polloreno, LCC senior wide receiver and defensive back. “Mission Hills is a great team — a lot of respect for their offense and coaches.”
“We battled hard, but came up just short,” added LCC long snapper Ryan Banse.
The Mission Hills win gives them the edge in head-to-head games over the last five years at 3-2.
Grizzlies interim head coach DJ Zapata is now 2-0 after taking over following the suspension of head coach Chris Hauser and two assistants.
La Costa Canyon will look to bounce back at home this Friday against San Marcos, while Mission Hills hosts another Avocado League unbeaten, Carlsbad (6-0).
