Eagles 35 - St. John Bosco 32
BELLFLOWER, CA., September 10, 1993 – In the season opener the Eagles traveled to Bellflower to face Division I foe, St. John Bosco.
It was a wild game from the start as Santa Margarita scored early on a 33-yard pass from Derek Yankoff to Brian Finneran.
The lead did not last long as the Braves countered with two first quarter scores by Ryan Williams. The Braves' wing-T offense riddled the young Eagle defense to take a 13-7 lead.
Yankoff countered with a nine-yard tun to put the Eagles on top, but St. John Bosco rallied to go ahead again, 19-14.
Just before half, Brian Griffin picked up a fumble by an Eagle receiver and took it in from three yards to give SM a 20-19 lead at the break.
The Braves came out strongly in the second half and took a 32-20 lead with less than six minutes left in the game.
The Braves loosened up their defense and Yankoff and Chris Collins ran at will.
Collins' 21-yard run cut the lead to 32-27 and the defense held tight to give SM a last chance to take the lead.
With less than four minutes left in the game, Yankoff engineered a final drive. He connected with Brad Finneran on an 11-yard pass to put the Eagles ahead, 33-32. Yankoff's run on the PAT gave the Eagles the 35-32 margin.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 35 |
| St. John Bosco | 13 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 32 |
SM – Brian Finneran 33 pass from Yankoff (Korinke kick)
SJB – Williams 3 run (Williams kick)
SJB – Williams 24 run (Williams kick)
SM – Yankoff 9 run (Korinke kick)
SJB – Hillman 3 run (run failed)
SM – Griffin 3 run (Korinke kick)
SJB – Hillman 1 run (pass failed)
SJB – Williams 20 run (Williams kick)
SM – Collins 21 run (Korinke kick)
SM – Brad Finneran 11 pass from Yankoff (Korinke kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: Collins 15-118, Yankoff 14-105
Passing: Yankoff 15-24-1, 224, .625%, 2 TD
Receiving: Brad Finneran 11-160, Brian Finneran 2-48
Defense: Brian Finneran 7 tackles, 1 int; Brad Finneran 7 tackles; Ahmer
7 tackles; Collins 6 tackles; Craven 6 tackles
Brad Finneran had 11 receptions, 7 tackles and the game-winning TD.
Yankoff, Eagles fly in opener
BELLFLOWER – First-year starter Derek Yankoff orchestrated a nine-play, 72-yard drive in the final 3 1/2 minutes and tossed in a two-point conversion run that gave Santa Margarita a 35-32 victory over host St. John Bosco on Friday night in a nonleague season opener for both schools.
The Eagles (1-0) might not have Sean O'Brien _ the star quarterback now at Arizona State _ but Yankoff, a senior, made an impressive showing in his first outing as Santa Margarita's starter.
It didn't hurt having the receiving duo of Brad and Brian Finneran, either.
Yankoff completed 15 of 25 passes, 11 of those to Brad Finneran, for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
"We're best friends and we hang out a lot," Yankoff said of the Finnerans. "He gives me a hand signal that no one else knows but me."
That chemistry worked to perfection as Yankoff hooked up with Brad Finneran on three consecutive plays for 45 yards, including the 11-yard, game-winning strike with 1:32 remaining.
By Carlos Arias
Saturday, September 11, 1993
The Orange County Register - D14
