Foothill 35 - Eagles 28 - CIF
Foothill's Run Attack Sinks Eagles' CIF Hopes
TUSTIN, CA., November 27, 1992 – The Eagles were once again on the road in the second round of the playoffs as they traveled to Tustin to face the Foothill Knights, last-second winners over third-seeeded Riverside Poly the previous week.
Santa Margarita fell short in the see-saw battle to lose for the first time in school history as the visitor in the playoffs.
A 73-yard run by quarterback Steve Wielandt with 3:14 to play in the game broke a 28-28 tie and the Eagles sould not mount a late rally at the end.
The first quarter was typical for the Eagles as they marched down the field on the opening drive and scored on Chris Tiernan's 17-yard run.
The Knights (8-4) kept the ball on the ground most of the evening and tied the score on Wielandt's 1-yard run.
But the Eagles came back and went ahead, 14-7, on Kevin Duffy's 18-yard touchdown reception form Sean O'Brien. Foothill countered with two field goals and just missed taking the lead at halftime when they ran out of time at the Eagle 1-yard line.
Wielandt, who finished with 190 yards rushing, scored his second touchdown in the third quarter to put the Knights ahead, 21-14.
All the Eagles could do the rest of the game was tie the score as the two teams exchanged touchdowns. With less than four minutes to go in the game, O'Brien hit Duffy, again from 10 yards to knot the score at 28.
Wielandt scored on the next play after the kickoff to end the Eagles' CIF hopes.
Santa Margarita finished the season at 9-3.
| Foothill | 7 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 35 |
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
SM – Tiernan 17 run (Korinke kick)
FH – Wielandt 1 run (Vicek kick)
SM – Duffy 19 pass from O'Brien (Korinke kick)
FH – Vicek 36 FG
FH – Vicek 36 FG
FH – Wielandt 9 run (Taub pass from Wielandt)
SM – Brian Finneran 9 pass from O'Brien (Korinke kick)
FH – Taub 3 run (Vicek kick)
SM – Duffy 10 pass from O'Brien (Korinke kick)
FH – Wielandt 72 run (Vicek kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: Tiernan 15-124, Duffy 4-41
Passing: O'Brien 14-30-0, 171, .466%, 3 TD
Receiving: Brian Finneran 5-82, Duffy 5-55, Zinn 2-27
Defense: Breen 13 tackles; Tiernan 10 tackles
Foothill advances on upset
TUSTIN – Foothill quarterback Steve Wielandt was briefly hoisted onto the shoulders of his teammates after the Knights' stirring 35-28 upset of Santa Margarita on Friday night.
And why not? Wielandt rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner, to fuel the victory in a CIF Southern Section Division IV quarterfinal game before an estimated 2,300 at Tustin High.
Foothill, which upset No. 3 seed Riverside Poly in the first round, advanced to the semifinal round for the first time since 1986.
"It's great coming in as underdogs," Wielandt said. "Nobody expects us to do what we do. We shock a lot of teams, and that's what helps us."
The Knights (7-4), the third-place team from the Century League, will meet No. 2 seed Irvine (11-1) next Saturday in a semifinal game at a site to be determined. Santa Margarita ended the season 9-3. Santa Margarita rallied twice to tie the score in the fourth quarter, only to see the Knights slip away. The Eagles tied the score, 28-28, on a 10-yard pass from Sean O'Brien to Kevin Duffy and Ryan Korinke's extra point with 3:47 left.
On the next play from scrimmage, however, Wielandt knocked the air out of the Eagles. He slipped down the right side of the line, stiff-armed Brad Finneran to get around the corner and darted 72 yards to the end zone with 3:14 to play.
"There was one guy left and he wasn't even looking at me," Wielandt said. "I cut back and, luckily, I made it."
Wielandt and Foothill running back Ethan Taub combined for 340 yards rushing to counter Santa Margarita's explosive offense, which finished with 352 yards.
After Santa Margarita was stopped on its ensuing possession, Wielandt gave the Eagles new life when he fumbled with 2:06 left. Joe Winklemann recovered to give the Eagles the ball at their 30.
The Knights' defense stiffened, John Bain and Errol High stopping running back Chris Tiernan for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-3 at the 37 with 58 seconds left.
"They've got a good offense and we knew they wanted to control the ball," Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan said. "They did a good job, but we didn't take advantage of a couple of opportunities to stop them after we tied the game. We knew what we were in for, but, unfortunately, we didn't win."
On the defense: Foothill tackle Chris Hoke finished with eight tackles and deflected two passes.
Noteworthy: Duffy was taken from the field on a stretcher with 1:41 left in the game with a possible "stinger" neck injury, Santa Margarita trainer Ray Gonzalez said. Duffy, who suffered a concussion last week against Glendora, was transported to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana after the game for precautionary X-rays.
By Brent Goodrich
Saturday, November 28, 1992
The Orange County Register - D1
