Bishop Amat’s McCutcheon Too Much for Trabuco Hills : Division I football: Highly touted back rushes for three touchdowns and returns interception for score in 49-22 victory.

COSTA MESA — As Chad Collins walked off the field in the aftermath of Trabuco Hills’ loss to La Puente Bishop Amat, he recounted the importance of the final high school game of his career.

In a week in which everyone talked about the other Division I semifinal--even some of his teammates--Collins spoke of the good fortune of playing the team ranked No. 1 in the nation.

“To me, this is the biggest game of my life,” Collins said. “To me, this was the (Southern Section) championship. This is the game we had to win.”

They didn’t. Bishop Amat beat Trabuco Hills, 49-22, at Orange Coast College, even though the Mustangs scrapped right down to the end, when they attempted an onside kick with nine seconds left, looking for a few more meaningless points.

Bishop Amat (13-0), seeded No. 1 in the tournament, will play Mater Dei next Saturday at 7:40 p.m. in Anaheim Stadium.

Trabuco Hills (10-3), unseeded and not even expected to get past the first round, came up short in its attempt to win a Division I title following last year’s Division VIII championship.

“We’ve got a good little football team,” Trabuco Hills Coach Jim Barnett said, “and we got beat by a good, big football team.”

Collins played a pivotal role in the contest. He completed 18 of 28 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns, but it was his two first-quarter interceptions that really hurt; both were returned for touchdowns.

Those, coupled with Daylon McCutcheon’s three rushing touchdowns, put an end to Trabuco’s championship hopes.

The first interception was a short pass from Collins intended for Ben Triman, but McCutcheon stepped in front of it and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown. It was McCutcheon’s second such score in two weeks.

But Collins came right back in the next series, pulling Trabuco Hills to 7-6, by completing six of seven passes for 58 of the drive’s 66 yards. After his two-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Johnson, who was called for a celebration penalty, Mike Junge’s point-after was blocked. It was as close as the Mustangs got all night.

McCutcheon completed a four-play, 53-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run on Bishop Amat’s next series.

And on Trabuco’s next play, Ramogi Huma stepped in front of another short pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown; it was Bishop Amat’s fifth interception return for a touchdown in three playoff games. The third of Ariel Castro’s seven point-afters made it 21-6, and McCutcheon’s 28-yard score capped a 75-yard touchdown drive with just over six minutes left in the half, making the score 28-6.

McCutcheon, whose four touchdowns gave him 31 on the season, added a 50-yard scoring run with 6:04 left in the game to make it 42-14. He finished with 17 carries for 131 yards.

Bishop Amat added to its halftime lead on the third play of the third quarter on a 56-yard pass play to make it 35-6.

Trabuco Hills mounted a late rally, scoring with 31 seconds left in the third quarter when Collins hit Johnson for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was successful.

The Mustangs closed the scoring with nine seconds left when Collins tossed a long lateral to J.C. Pintsak, who threw 20 yards to Laquent Fobbs for a touchdown.

Afterward, Collins wasn’t lamenting the failure to get to the championship game against Mater Dei.

“I’d rather go out this way,” he said, “to the team ranked No. 1 in the nation.”