Corona del Mar 18 - Eagles 17
COSTA MESA, CA., November 3, 1995 – It seemed to be one of those nights and it happened to come against a team the Eagles have trouble beating. On the first and last plays of the game, the Eagles were unfortunate and it cost them their second straight loss. An opening play fumble got the Eagles off to a rough start. The Eagles mounted a drive from the 13-yard line behind 18-17. Chris Collins was instrumental in taking SM to the Sea King 9-yard line. SM faced three fourth down situations and converted to keep their hopes alive. However, with only two seconds remaining on the clock, Jeff Zaist's 26-yard field goal attempt went wide right as time expired.
| Corona del Mar | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 18 |
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
CDM – O'Meara 1 run (kick falled)
SM – Nickels 31 pass from Collins (Zaist kick)
SM – Newman 27 run (Zaist kick)
CDM – Wills 7 pass from Walz (pass failed)
SM – FG Zaist 37
CDM – O'Meara 2 run (run failed)
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Rushing: Newman 18-90
Passing: Collins 13-19-0-154
Receiving: Nickels 4-60
Scoring: Nickels 1 TD, Newman 1 TD, Zaist 1 FG, 2 PATs
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Tackles: Pichler 5, Nickels 4, Grzecka 4
Asst. Tackles: Pichler 5, Long 4, Grzecka 4
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Corona del Mar holds on for upset
COSTA MESA, CA., November 3, 1995 – Corona del Mar put itself in a position to upset 10th-ranked Santa Margarita in a Sea View League game Friday night at Orange Coast College and then held its breath with two seconds remaining to play.
When the Sea Kings dared to breathe again, it was after the Eagles' field goal try sailed wide right, allowing Corona del Mar to hold on for the 18-17 victory.
Running back Tom O'Meara led Corona del Mar with 67 yards rushing and two touchdowns, with quarterback Josh Walz passing for another touchdown.
The upset improves Corona del Mar to 6-3 overall, 2-2 in league. Santa Margarita, ranked 10th in the county, falls to 6-3 and 2-2.
The Sea Kings' triumph creates a three-way tie for second place in the league standings with one week remaining in the regular season.
Santa Margarita drove 75 yards to the Corona del Mar 9, only to watch kicker Jeff Zaist's attempt sail wide, setting off a wild celebration by the Sea Kings.
“The kids have really been working hard this year and they deserve this,” Corona del Mar coach Dick Freeman said. “We stayed with them during most of the game and that's all I could ask from them. This is great."
It was O'Meara's second touchdown, with 7:28 remaining in the game, that proved to be the game winner.
Taking the ball from Walz, O'Meara charged through a hole on the right side to cap a 15-play, 68-yard drive.
Quarterback Chris Collins led Santa Margarita with 13-of-19 passing for 151 yards and one touchdown. Running back Billy Newman rushed for 88 yards before leaving late in the game with a left ankle sprain.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Newman 18-88, Munoz 3-19; CdM - O'Meara 16-67, Walz 11-49
Passing: SM - Collins 13-19-0-151; CdM - Walz 6-12-0-92
Receiving: SM - Nickels 4-60, Brown 5-51; CdM - Sumner 1-43, MacDonald 1-22
By Lee Scheide
Saturday, November 4, 1995
The Orange County Register - Sports 11
