Eagles 37 - Huntington Beach 16
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA., September 21, 1995 – Game three had the same results as the first two games of the season, but the Eagles found themselves in a battle with a physical Oiler team. The Division I team took an 8-7 halftime lead in a defensive struggle, but the Eagles came out and aired it out to score the final 22 points in the second half. Matt Nickels again had a huge game with 111 yards on 7 receptions and 1 score. Billy Newman again led all rushers with 91 yards, while Chris Collins had 2 rushing scores and 2 TD passes. The defense held the Oilers in check, limiting them to a 33% passing average for only 81 yards. The win put the Eagles at 3-0 against teams in divisions above them.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 0 | 16 | 14 | 37 |
| Huntington Beach | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 16 |
SM – Newman 9 run (Zaist kick)
HB – Campbell 16 pass from Yadrick (Van Hoorebeke run)
SM – Collins 5 run (Collins run)
HB – Locklin 3 run (Campbell pass from Van Hoorebeke)
SM – Brown 6 pass from Collins (Nickels pass from Collins)
SM – Nickels 14 pass from Collins (Zaist kick)
SM – Collins 26 run (Zaist kick)
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Rushing: Newman 13-91, Collins 7-39
Passing: Collins 13-21-0-162, Harrison 1-1-0-12
Receiving: Nickels 7-111, Brown 2-15
Scoring: Collins 2 TDs + 1 2-point PAT, Nickels 1TD + 1 2-point PAT, Newman 1 TD, Brown 1TD, Zaist 3 PAT
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Tackles: McNeil 3, Nickels 3, Grzecka 2
Asst. Tackles: Nickels 7, Zaist 7, Berg 3
Interceptions: Newman 1
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita comes from behind
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA., September 21, 1995 – Santa Margarita rallied Thursday night from a one-point, first half deficit by scoring on four of its five possessions in the second to beat host Huntington Beach, 37-16, in a non league game at Sheue Field.
Eagles coach Jim Hartigan said his team, ranked ninth in Orange County and fifth in Division V, was rattled at intermission, down 8-7, but it wasn't anything a good halftime speech and few adjustments couldn't fix.
"This was a character builder for sure," said Hartigan, whose team improved to 3-0. "We came out in the first half and were sluggish. We played Saturday and were playing another game on Thursday. But the boys showed poise and pride.
"That was the first time we've been down this season. I told them that we're a good football team and so are they. We had to go out and earn this one."
Santa Margarita wasted little time making up the ground in the second half. The squad started by stopping Huntington Beach on three plays to open action.
The Eagles' offense, led by senior quarterback Chris Collins (13 of 19 for 165 yards) took over. Santa Margarita scored on its first four possessions of the half to turn a close, well-played contest into a blowout.
Huntington Beach (1-2) was only able to counter the Eagles' first score.
In the second half, Collins ran for touchdowns of 5 and 26 yards and threw a 6-yard score to tight end Eric Brown and14-yard strike to wide receiver Matt Nickels.
Nickels, a 6-2, 180-pound senior, finished with seven catches for 115 yards and blocked a Huntington Beach field goal near the end of the first half.
The 6-2, 205-pound Collins said the Eagles' key adjustment was going to the air in the second half.
"We saw what they were giving us in the first half," said Collins, who threw 13 of his 19 passes in the second. “If we opened it up, we knew we could be more successful."
For the Eagles, it was a good thing the move worked. Huntington Beach senior running back Jason Locklin did everything he could to keep the Oilers in the game by rushing for 156 yards on 20 carries.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Newman 13-91, Collins 7-39; HB - Locklin 20-156, Yang 1-4
Passing: SM - Collins 13-19-165; HB - Yadrick 9-23-1-90
Receiving: SM - Nickels 7-115, Brown 2-15; HB - Campbell 3-36, Masuda 2-29
By Dan Albano
Friday, September 22, 1995
The Orange County Register - Sports 8
