SAN MARCOS – The Mission Hills football team feeds off of star nose tackle Eddie Nuckols. He's the team leader, emotionally and on the field.

So it's no surprise that once Nuckols went down with an ankle injury on the second play of the third quarter, the Grizzlies fell apart.

But despite seven fumbles – five lost – numerous costly penalties and an obvious hole in the run defense, Mission Hills was able to hold on for the 27-14 non-league win over Temecula Great Oak on Friday night.

“When Eddie went down, it kind of pulled the rug from underneath us,” said quarterback D.J. Zapata, who completed 16-of-22 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. “We just lost the fire.”

Nuckols, who tried to fire up his team from the sideline, said there was significant swelling on his ankle, but that he should be ready to go for San Marcos next week.

The Grizzlies looked as if they were on their way to an epic rout in the first half. They got into the end zone on their first two possessions, including a 5-yard TD run by Nuckols, who plays fullback in short-yardage situations.

Tailback Eddy Sihavong, who finished with 93 yards on the ground and 32 receiving, had two scores in the first half.

But it was the passing game, led by Zapata, that was impressive.

“I expected him to be sharp,” said Mission Hills head coach Chris Hauser of Zapata. “His leadership out there was fantastic.”

Zapata was 12-for-17 for 155 passing yards, including a 6-yard touchdown pass to No. 1 receiver Nigel Westbrooks in the first half. Mission Hills took a 27-0 lead into the intermission.

The second half was a different story.

The Grizzlies fumbled on their first three possessions of the second, with the Wolfpack turning two of the miscues into touchdown drives.

“When it snowballed, it got contagious,” Hauser said. “Nobody could contain it for us.”

The defense suffered as well with Nuckols out of the game. After holding Great Oak to just 10 total yards and two first downs in the first, the defense started to look vulnerable without its anchor in the middle.

Running back Keith Thomson, who was shut down in the first, started finding holes in the second. Quarterback Ethan Elzinga threw touchdown passes to Justin Duffy and Zack Kinney in the third quarter to cut the Mission Hills lead to 27-14. Mission Hills' seventh fumble of the day – on the exchange from Zapata to Sihavong – gave the Wolfpack a chance to get close with five minutes left in the game.

Ironically, a caused fumble, by strong safety Zach McMaster and subsequent recovery by linebacker Chad Dobbins stopped Great Oak's drive and sealed the win for the Grizzlies.

“We got the win,” Hauser said. “(But) if we continue to play like that, there's going to be a lot of heartache.”