Eagles 49 - El Modena 15
ORANGE, CA., October 2, 1997 – Bryant Wolfsberger rushed for 161 yards on nine carries, and Greg Orlando rushed and passed for two touchdowns each as Santa Margarita ran its school record winning streak to 15 with a 49-15 win over El Modena. The Eagles continued their dominance over the Vanguards as they raced to a 49-0 lead before clearing the bench early in the third quarter. Last season, the Eagles beat El Mo 32-3 and 51-6, and have now outscored them 132-24. The Eagles started out slowly as they punted on their first possession and Orlando fumbled on the second. Spencer McCroskey recovered a Vanguard fumble in the end zone for a 7-0 first quarter lead.
The defense dominated in the first half to where the Vanguards managed only 5 rushing yards on 25 attempts and two first downs. The battle of field possession was won by the Eagles as El Mo could not cross midfield until 9:19 left in the game.
Wolfsberger scored on a 57-yard run, Orlando scored on a 13-yard run and also hit John Minardi and Mike O'Gorman on an 10- and 18-yard scores respectively as the Eagles tied their school record for points in a quarter with 28. With McCroskey running the offense, he scored his first rushing TD of his career with a 30-yard scamper in the third quarter.
On defense, Nick Cappelletti collected 13 tackles in limited action to lead the team for the third straight week. Jessie Wyatt and Andrew Holstein added eight tackles apiece while Matt Strickroth added four unassisted tackles including one for a loss and a sack to earn Defensive Lineman of the Game. Holstein added a blocked punt to be named Special Teams Player of the Game.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 28 | 14 | 0 | 49 |
| El Modena | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 |
SM – McCroskey fumble recovery in end zone (Sparks kick)
SM – Wolfsberger 57 run (Sparks kick)
SM – Minardi 11 pass from Orlando (Sparks kick)
SM – Orlando 13 run (Sparks kick)
SM – O'Gorman 17 pass from Orlando (Sparks kick)
SM – Orlando 13 run (Sparks kick)
SM – McCroskey 30 run (Sparks kick)
ELM – Anderson 41 pass from Garcia (Garcia run)
ELM – Williams 1 run (Archer kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Wolfsberger 9-161, Orlando 7-60; EM - Williams 19-44, Garcia 15-13
Passing: SM - Orlando 5-10-0-79; EM - Garcia, 7-15-0 88
Receiving: SM - Minardi 2-38, Beckner 1-22; EM - Anderson, 3-62, Souza 2-42
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita whips El Modena
ORANGE – The highlight tapes Santa Margarita watches before games are getting longer with each blowout.
Not only are the Eagles racking up the points, but everyone is playing.
The second-ranked Eagles cleared their bench for a fourth consecutive week Thursday night as they defeated El Modena, 49-15, in front of an estimated 1,500 at Fred Kelly Stadium.
It was the Eagles' school-record 15th consecutive victory.
The only player who did not play for Santa Margarita (4-0) was star quarterback Carson Palmer, who sat out with a sore left foot. The senior is expected to play next week.
"We wanted to get some kids developed," Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan said.
Hartigan cited quarterback Greg Orlando's play as an example that the Eagles accomplished their goal. The 5-9, 163-pound junior, who made his third start, completed 5 of 10 passes for 79 yards, including an 11-yard score to John Minardi and a 17-yard touchdown to Mike O'Gorman.
Orlando also ran for 60 yards on seven carries and had two 13 yard touchdown runs against El Modena (1-3).
By Dan Albano
Friday, October 3, 1997
The Orange County Register - Sports 8
