Trabuco Hills 50 - Eagles 14
Trabuco Hills greets Santa Margarita, 50-14. Rooker dazzles in gaining 200 yards
MISSION VIEJO, CA., September 8, 1989 – No one knows better than Trabuco Hills that it takes time to build a winner. The Mustangs showed the fruits of their labors Friday night to the new school down the block, Santa Margarita. Sparked by Ben Rooker's 200 yards rushing and four touchdown runs, Trabuco Hills spoiled Santa Margarita's gala night with a resounding 50-14 victory before an estimated 1,400 at Saddleback College.
It was Santa Margarita's first varsity game. The school opened for freshmen two years ago and it has no senior class. Trabuco Hills opened its doors five years ago and climaxed a meteoric rise in the football ranks with the CIF Division VIII championship last year.
“Strength, speed and size caught up with us," Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan said.
He could have been referring specifically to Rooker, a 6-3, 208 pound junior tailback who had his way with the Eagles' defense. Rooker scored on runs of 3, 7, 9 and 34 yards and added a two-point conversion.
"It was a good opening game for Rooker," Trabuco Hills coach Jim Barnett said in an understatement. Ditto for quarterback Tim Manning, who completed 12 of 16 passes for 150 yards in his first start following in the footsteps of David Lowery, who set a county record last year with 3,332 yards passing. Manning threw for one touchdown and ran 28 yards for another. He rushed four times for 56 yards.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” Barnett said. "He looked like a quarterback to me. He's playing out of position, but he's a super athlete. He showed me he was really using his head out there by calling a couple of audibles, which was something I didn't expect this early in the season.”
Manning, a preseason Street & Smith honorable mention All America at defensive back, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Julian Ford. Manning said he felt no pressure thanks to his supporting cast. "I wasn't nervous," Manning said. “I knew we'd play well. With the guys I have around me, I knew there wasn't a lot of pressure on me."
| Trabuco Hills | 3 | 13 | 26 | 8 | 50 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
TH – FG Roper 23
SM – Yankoff I run (Lucero kick)
TH – Rooker 3 run (Ropor kick)
TH – Ford 13 pass from Manning (kick blocked)
TH – Manning 28 run (kick failed)
SM – Ireland 90 kickoff return (Lucero kick)
TH – Rooker 9 run (kick failed)
TH – Rooker 7 run (pass failed)
TH – Rooker 34 run (Ford run)
TH – Skidmore 35 interception return (Rooker run)
By John Rezell
Saturday, September 9, 1989
The Orange County Register - D6
