ESCONDIDO – It was senior night at Escondido High. But last night, as it has been all season, a junior was stealing the show for the Cougars.

Escondido running back Ricky Seale, the San Diego Section's leading rusher, continued his assault on defenses, rushing for 182 yards and three scores to lead the Cougars to a 42-17 Avocado League win over visiting No. 8 Mission Hills.

“He's special,” said Mission Hills coach Chris Hauser. “He has an incredible motor. He'll be a special back for years to come.”

Not to be outdone by his junior teammate, senior Joel Sisler turned in a special performance of his own, sacking Mission Hills quarterback D.J. Zapata three times on defense and catching two balls for 101 yards and two scores on offense. Junior defensive back Riley Wilson also had a pair of interceptions for Escondido (7-2, 3-1).

“We have such good running backs, but I told coach (Paul) Gomes we need to dip into our arsenal a little bit,” said Sisler, a two-way wide receiver and linebacker. “We did what we had to do on both sides of the ball.”

The game was also rife with playoff implications as both teams are jockeying down the stretch for one of the critical top spots in the upcoming Division I playoffs.

Seale set the tone early, erupting for 106 yards on 21 carries and two scores in the first half. Working with a short field on their opening drive, the Cougars went 51 yards on eight plays, ending with a 1-yard run by Seale.

“We felt like this game would be a shootout,” Seale said, “so it was big for our defense to get a stop and for us to get on the board first.”

Seale scored again in the second quarter from 2 yards out, capping a 14-play, 77-yard march.

Mission Hills' offense found some life in the final seconds of the first half. Chad Dobbins broke off a 57-yard run, setting up a 38-yard Armando De La Cruz field goal and 14-3 lead at halftime.

The pace picked up in the third quarter as both teams combined for 35 points. Seale added his third score, a spectacular 40-yard run that looked dead after a yard, and Sisler caught both touchdowns from Zach Embrey (7-of-9 for 172 yards) in the third quarter.

Mission Hills (5-3-1, 1-2-1) scored on a 6-yard run by Dobbins and 14-yard hookup from Zapata to Dallas Butler.

Mission Hills' running back Eddy Sihavong missed the game with an injured ankle.