Eagles 28 - Glendora 7 - CIF
Halftime Wakeup Call Sparks Eagles in CIF
GLENDORA, CA., November 20, 1992 – The Eagles went into the playoffs having a 3-0 record in the first round, and they had to travel to Citrus College to face Baseline League champion, Glendora.
The opening drive looked good for the Eagles as they quickly moved to the Tartan 5-yard line, but Sean O'Brien tried to pitch the ball over a defender and Brian Winters intercepted the pass and returned it 86 yards for Glendora's only score.
On SM's next possession the Eagles went 79 yards to move within a point on Chris Tiernan's 5-yard run. SM went for two points but were stopped short to trail, 7-6.
As the defense held strong, the offense was sluggish the rest of the half.
The Eagles came out on fire in the third quarter though, and scored 22 points to put the game on ice.
Ryan Zinn scored on a 19-yard counter play on the Eagle's first drive, and Chris Tiernan had runs of 2- and 11-yards to finish the scoring spree.
The defense was led by Tiernan (7 tackles) and Brad Finneran's two interceptions.
O'Brien finished the game with 320 yards in the air and Tiernan had 125 yards rushing. Zinn, who had to carry the load on offense as well when Kevin Duffy went down early in the first quarter, finished with 6 receptions for 85 yards.
For the fourth consecutive year the Eagles advanced to the second round of the CIF Playoffs.
| Santa Margarita | 6 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 28 |
| Glendora | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
GLEN – Winters 86 interception return (Amos kick)
SM – Tiernan 5 run (Korinke kick)
SM – Zinn 19 run (Korinke kick)
SM – Tiernan 2 run (Korinke kick)
SM – Tiernan 11 run (Korinke kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: Tiernan 18-125, O'Brien 7-37
Passing: O'Brien 21-30-2, 321, .700%, 3 TD
Receiving: Brian Finneran 6-131, Zinn 6-87, Brad Finneran 4-67
Defense: Tiernan 9 tackles; Brad Finneran 2 ints
O'Brien shrugs off Glendora - Santa Margarita turns slow start to big finish
GLENDORA – Santa Margarita quarterback Sean O'Brien paused and looked around the Citrus College Stadium as he shrugged is shoulders.
"We were a little nervous," O'Brien said. "This is a nice, big stadium. We've haven't played in a place like this before." O'Brien proved he's a quick study Friday, overcoming two early interceptions to lead Santa Margarita to a 28-7 victory over Glendora in the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs before a crowd estimated at 2,000. Santa Margarita (9-2) will play the winner of a clash between Foothill (6-4) and Riverside Poly (8-2) next week. O'Brien completed 19 of 30 passes for 320 yards. Chris Tiernan rushed for 122 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Eagles. Santa Margarita had little trouble moving the ball. The Eagles had trouble with self-destruction.
On the opening drive, O'Brien moved the Eagles 54 yards to the Glendora 6, but Glendora's Andrew Winters intercepted an
ill-advised forward pitch and raced 86 yards for a touchdown. Eric Amos kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
"That was just a stupid play on my part," O'Brien said. "I tried to pitch it over his head." Santa Margarita quickly moved 79 yards on the next possession and Tiernan scored on a 4-yard run. But after an offsides penalty on Glendora, Santa Margarita went for the two-point conversion and was stopped. O'Brien moved the Eagles inside the Glendora 10 again but threw another interception. It was 7-6 at halftime.
"We weren't worried because we were moving the ball," Tiernan said. "We were just stopping ourselves."
On the defense: Tiernan finished with seven tackles to lead Santa Margarita. Brad Finneran had two interceptions.
Noteworthy: Brian Finneran had six receptions for 129 yards.
By John Rezell
Saturday, November 21, 1992
The Orange County Register - D4
