Eagles 29 - Colton 22 - CIF
Ireland's TD return climaxes Santa Margarita rally, 29-22
COLTON, CA., November 22, 1991 – Josh Ireland knew it was time to go. His team had blown a 21-7 lead and now trailed, 22-21. There was only 4:55 remaining in the game.
So Ireland went – taking the ensuing kickoff 79 yards for the touchdown that gave Santa Margarita a 29-22 victory over Colton in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs.
"I thought the last guy was going to get my legs," Ireland said of the final Yellowjacket to have a shot at tackling him at the Santa Margarita 30. "Earlier in the year, I was having trouble getting my knees up, but we've been working on it and it came in handy. I got my knees up, and once I was past him, I knew I was gone."
There was still a chance for Colton (8-3) to strike back but the Eagle's 6-3, 195 quarterback/safety Sean O'Brien delighted 300 Santa Margarita followers making two tackles and a crushing interception on the final Colton series.
He nailed Joe Chammas in the left flat for a 4-yard loss after Chammas had caught a swing pass, then raced up to tackle Chammas in the right flat.
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 29 |
| Colton | 0 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
SM – Ireland 7 run (Watts kick)
COL – Smalls 2 run (Chammas kick)
SM – Ireland 16 run {kick failed)
SM – Zalta 22 pass from O'Brien (Ireland run)
COL – Smalls 1 run (Smalls run)
COL – Rangle 5 pass from Jones (Chammas kick)
SM – Ireland 79 kickoff return (Zalta pass from O'Brien)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Ireland 21-110, Villanueva 7-63; Col - Smalls 32-129, Rangle 7-25
Passing: SM - O'Brien 2-9-0-26; Col - Jones, 8-16-2-84
Receiving: SM - Zalta 1-22, Brian Finneran 1-4; Col - Mendoza, 3-44, Bray 1-20
By Paul Glaviano
Saturday, November 23, 1991
The Orange County Register - D10
