Eagles 32 - El Modena 3
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 4, 1996 – The Eagles again went to their bag of tricks early and cruised to a 32-3 victory over El Modena. Carson Palmer threw to backup quarterback Mike Thompson, who lined up as a wide receiver. Thompson caught the ball, dropped back and threw across the field to Palmer who went 45 yards for the score. The defense shutout the Vanguards, who did manage to score a field goal against the reserves late in the game. John Minardi had a huge night catching 8 passes for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns. The three scores tied a school record by Brian Finneran.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 32 |
| El Modena | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
SM – Palmer 45 pass from Thompson (Sparks kick)
SM – FG Sparks 37
SM – Minardi 37 pass from Palmer (Minardi run)
SM – Minardi 54 pass from Palmer (Sparks kick)
SM – Minardi 6 pass from Palmer (Sparks kick)
ELM – FG Chavez 28
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: EM - Williams 19-108, Walters 3-13; SM - Newman 14-65, Lopez 3-52
Passing: EM - Garcia 7-20-0-50; SM - Palmer 14-23-0-209, Thompson 3-5-0-58
Receiving: EM - Edmisten 3-32, Sherrill 2-16; SM - Minardi 8-136, Palmer 1-45
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita downs El Modena
MISSION VIEJO – Santa Margarita wasted little time putting away El Modena, 32-3, in a non league game Friday at Saddleback College.
The Eagles (3-1) had three scoring drives on their first three possessions of the game.
On the first Eagle drive, quarterback Carson Palmer capped off a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive when he caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from halfback Mike Thompson.
“We had good passing out there tonight from both Palmer and Thompson," Eagles coach Jim Hartigan said.
The second drive ended with a 37-yard field goal by Nick Sparks. The third Eagle possessi?n gave them an 18-0 halftime lead when John Minardi caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Palmer. Eagle receiver Minardi tied one school record and set another against the Vanguards (0-3).
Minardi tied a school record set by Brad Finneran with three touchdown receptions in a game and set a record with a touchdown reception in each of his past four games.
By Kevin Lindsey
Saturday, October 5, 1996
The Orange County Register - Sports 14
