Eagles 21 - Irvine 18
Irvine loses game, coin flip, playoff berth
IRVINE, CA., November 12, 1994 – Irvine didn't want to have its playoff fate decided by a silver dollar, but its 21-18 loss to Santa Margarita on Saturday night gave them just that.
The three-time CIF Southern Section champions were tied with El Toro for third place in the Sea View League and a coin flip after the game decided who would get the automatic playoff berth.
The Vaqueros lost the toss to settle for fourth, and with its 4-5-1 overall record probably will not get a wild-card berth. Irvine finished 2-2-1 in league.
Santa Margarita (5-5, 2-3) played spoiler despite losing starting quarterback Chris Collins in the first quarter.
The Eagles scored on its second drive of the game but lost Collins when the junior injured his left knee on the eighth play of the 12-yard scoring drive. The drive was capped on a 2-yard run by Billy Newman.
Irvine scored on its next possession. The Vaqueros drove from their own 39 to the 1 before Russ Diehl, who finished with 101 yards on 21 carries, dove into the end zone.
But Santa Margarita came back on its next possession. Backup quarterback Kevin McNeal lead the Eagles from their own 39 and the junior scored from the 1.
The Vaqueros added a Sean Clark field goal, electing noi to go for it on fourth and 1, with 1:20 before halftime.
In the second half, Santa Margarita kept the ball on the ground and out of the Irvine's hands.
The Eagles threw twice in the second half; relying on Newman, who rushed for 91 yards, and David Munoz, who had 58. Munoz scored a 17-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 21-10 lead.
Zubrin Irani caught a 5-yard pass from Scott Larsen 'with 44 seconds left, and a two-point conversion pulled Irvine to within a field goal, but an onsides kick was unsuccessful.
| Santa Margarita | 6 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Irvine | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 18 |
SM – Newman 2 run (kick failed)
IRV – Diehl 1 run (Clark Kick)
SM – McNeal 1 run (Munoz run)
IRV – FG Clark 27
SM – Munoz 17 run (Korinke kick)
IRV – Irani 5 pass from Larsen (Snyder pass from Larsen)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Newman 12-91, Munoz 6-58; Irv - Diehl 3-101, Clark 3-9
Passing: SM - Collins 2-8-0-34, McNeal 3-4-0-39; Irv - Larsen 15-23-1-140
Receiving: SM - Griffin 2-35, Clark 2-24; Irv - Noisey 6-97, Walker 4-42
By John Reger
Sunday, November 13, 1994
The Orange County Register - Sports 16
