Dominant rushing game helps power Capistrano Valley Christian past University

Capo Valley Christian head coach Brandon Camarillo talks to his players after the win. (Photos: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Capistrano Valley Christian High School senior Josh Monroe seems to be enjoying his role as the Eagles lead running back.

For the second week in a row, Monroe led his team to a non-league victory. Thursday night, Monroe rushed for four touchdowns and 268 yards on 22 carries to lead CVC to a 34-17 victory over University at Uni.

It was the first game of the year for Uni.

To see additional photos, click on the first picture:

Monroe had TD runs of 17 and 24 yards in the first quarter to help CVC move out to a 13-0 lead. He had a 22-yard TD run in the third quarter to give Capo Valley Christian a 27-3 lead, then capped the night with a 64-yard TD in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“I’m super excited for the season and we’re super blessed, it was a great win,” Monroe said. “I’m super proud of the offensive line, going into the season, the offensive line were pretty much doubted, they didn’t think very highly of them but we just kept working. JP (Synnott) was a great back last year, it’s good to follow in his footsteps.”

CVC Coach Brandon Camarillo was thrilled with Monroe’s effort and that of his team (2-0).

“The kids have been working really, really hard and showing all the little things that other programs do, practicing long days in the summer, it’s been a really good group of kids and they’ve really bought in to what we’re trying to do,” the first-year coach said. “We’ve been lucky to win two games and we will try and get more.”

As for Monroe, the senior running back:

“Running the ball, it’s always tough, you never know, they’re high school kids, it’s hard to figure out what offensive line you have but he’s so good in the tight gaps and just being slippery and he’s somebody we can rely on. He was getting tired but he still was a workhorse. To have somebody like that is huge for us,” the coach said.

Camarillo was also pleased with the Eagles’ pass rush against Uni. Quarterback Justin Tribble was pressured all night. He passed for 138 yards connecting with Lucca Clouthier on a 22-yard TD pass in the third quarter but threw two interceptions.

“We knew the quarterback was definitely a running threat so we put a little something together that was different,” Camarillo said.

CVC quarterback Nate Richie was also solid, passing for 132 yards and a 39-yard TD pass to Max Krosky in the second quarter that put the Cougars ahead 20-0.

Jake Rabold kicked a 27-yard field goal at the end of the first half to put University on the board. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Elmer came on late in the fourth quarter and his first pass against the CVC defensive back-ups, hooked up with Carl Oldham for a 74-yard TD pass.

Oldham was the Trojans leading receiver with eight catches for 142 yards. Damari Carter was the Trojans leading rusher with 69 yards on 17 carries.

But turnovers, including a lost fumble, and numerous penalties hurt University all night.

“We had too many turnovers, too many mistakes, we got to clean it up,” said Uni Coach Vince Mesa. “They’re a good team, they’re very disciplined and they took advantage of our mistakes and they got the better of us.

“In a lot of situations, we dug holes, bad snaps, false starts, offsides, fumbles. You name it, we did it tonight. Dylan Elmer threw a nice pass at the end, to be fair it was against their second or third string guys. But Tribble played pretty good tonight. We will go back and watch the films and fix everything for next week.”

Monroe and Luke Vincent recorded the interceptions for the CVC defense.

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Photos from Capistrano Valley Christian vs. University non-league game

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com