Eagles 56 - Irvine 3
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 31, 1997 – Adding to their arsenal of trick plays, the Eagles used a cross-field lateral on the opening kickoff to score the second quickest Td in their history to start a commanding 56-3 win over league rival Irvine at Saddleback College. The win was the Eagles fourth consecutive over the Vaqueros and their 19th consecutive overall.
Greg Orlando fielded the kickoff and passed to Bryant Wolfsberger who raced untouched 87-yards for a score with just 17 seconds elapsed. Wolfsberger’s return was the sixth kickoff return touchdown of his career. On the Eagles first offensive play after a 25-yard punt return by Orlando, Carson Palmer hit John Minardi for a 13-yard Td and a quick 14-0 lead. Orlando caught two short Td passes from Palmer and linebacker Andrew Holstein returned a fumble 59 yards for a score as the Eagles built a 35-3 halftime lead.
Wolfsberger, who’s first Td at Servite in week 3 took 16 seconds, was limited to 31 yards rushing on five carries, but he added a third quarter rushing Td (his 13th of the season) to make the score 42-3. Orlando later found Minardi for a 72-yard scoring strike, and connected with Ryan Gahagan on a 63-yarder in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring. Palmer finished the day seven of eleven for 100 yards and three Tds. He also extended his streak of consecutive passes without an interception to a school record 162.
Defensively, Holstein led the team with 11 tackles, while Troy Brenes added his first two sacks of the season.
| Santa Margarita | 28 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 56 |
| Irvine | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
SM – Wolfsberger 84 kickoff return (Sparks kick)
SM – Minardi 13 pass from Palmer (Sparks kick)
SM – Orlando 5 pass from Palmer (Sparks kick)
SM – Holstein 59 fumble return (Sparks kick)
IRV – FG Howard 28
SM – Wolfsberger 1 run (Sparks kick)
SM – Orlando 8 pass from Palmer (Sparks kick)
SM – Minardi 72 pass from Orlando (Sparks kick)
SM – Gahagan 63 from Orlando (Luke kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: Irv - Felix 18-57, Paik 20-47; SM - Wolfsberger, 4-36, Palmer, 4-36
Passing: Irv - Howard 7-24-0-61; SM - Palmer, 7-11-0100, Orlando, 3-3-0-135
Receiving: Irv - Moussa-Zahab, 3-32, Wright, 2-24; SM - Minardi, 4-141, Orlando, 4-85
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita romps from opening kickoff
MISSION VIEJO – "When we execute and we're on, we're tough to beat," Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan said.
And for the first seven minutes Friday night, the second-ranked Eagles were almost perfect, scoring 28 points in recording a 56-3 victory over Irvine in a Sea View League game at Saddleback College.
The defending league champion Eagles (8-0, 3-0) completed a cross-field pass on the opening kickoff, setting up an 84-yard touchdown return by running back Bryant Wolfsberger. Wide receiver and backup quarterback Greg Orlando fielded the kick and then passed to Wolfsberger, who raced untouched for the sixth kickoff return for a touchdown of his career.
The Eagles also scored on their first play from scrimmage as quarterback Carson Palmer threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Colorado-bound wide receiver John Minardi.
Santa Margarita, which has won a school-record 19 consecutive games, added another Palmer touchdown pass and a 59-yard fumble recovery for a score by linebacker Andrew Holstein to take a 28-0 lead with 4:51 left in the first quarter.
Palmer, a preseason All-American, completed 7 of 11 passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns. He has 17 touchdowns and no interceptions on the season. The 6-4 senior also extended his streak of passes without an interception to a school-record 161.
Irvine (3-5, 1-2) played without standout running back Al Williams, who has an abdominal injury.
By Dan Albano
Saturday, November 1, 1997
The Orange County Register - Sports 11
