Carpinteria 21 - Eagles 14 - CIF
Santa Margarita's season ends. Missed Opportunities cost Eagles, 21-14
MISSION VIEJO, CA., August 26, 1989 – There was sorrow, but no shame on the Santa Margarita sideline after Friday night's season-ending loss to Carpinteria. The Eagles came too close to victory to feel that bad about losing.
Had the Eagles, in their first season of varsity football, capitalized on three fumble recoveries in the first half, they might have avoided a 21-14 loss to the third-seeded Warriors in a CIF Division IX second- round game before 3,500 spectators at Saddleback College.
Instead, Coach Jim Hartigan and his team of underclassmen had to be satisfied with the scare they gave a team that has reached the CIF title game the past three years.
“I tried to tell the kids that these guys come from Orange County, that they're competitive and used to winning,” Carpinteria coach Lou Panizzon said. "Subconsciously, I don't think they realized how tough Santa Margarita would be."
In the first half, Santa Margarita (8-4), an at-large entry from the Olympic League, caused four Carpinteria fumbles, recovering three.
But the Eagles scored off one fumble recovery. Josh Ireland eventually scored on a 1-yard touchdown dive with 10:35 remaining in the half.
"They did a good job of adjusting to what we were doing on offense,” Hartigan said.
Ireland, who was held to 47 yards on 18 carries and only 3 yards in the first half, scored after teammate Louis Pavlovich recovered a Jose Hernandez fumble and returned it to the Carpinteria 8 early in the second quarter.
| Carpinteria | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
SM – Ireland 1 run (Lucero kick)
CAR – Candaele 51 run (Villa kick)
CAR – Hernandez 4 run (Villa kick)
SM – Yankoff 1 run (Lucero kick)
CAR – Ondre 1 run (Villa kick)
By Marc Stein
Saturday, November 25, 1989
The Orange County Register - D4
