EAGLES 17 - IRVINE 0 - CIF
MISSION VIEJO, CA., December 4, 1998 – The Eagles avenged an earlier loss to Irvine in a dominating fashion as they defeated the Vaqueros 17-0 in the CIF Semi-Finals at Trabuco Hills High School. The win allows the Eagles to advance to the CIF Championship game for the third consecutive season. A 34-yard punt return by Greg Orlando set up Spencer McCroskey’s 10-yard scoring run at the 1:38 mark of the first quarter to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. A 22-yard field goal by Matt Froehlich with 6:30 left in the half was set up by a 48-yard flea-flicker from Dustin Creager to Trent Zinn. On the Eagles next possession they faced a 3rd and 5 from their 19. From there Orlando sprinted 81-yards on a QB draw to increase the lead to 17-0 with 3:11 left before the half. The defense dominated the entire game, allowing the Vaqueros to cross midfield only twice and limiting them to 53 total yards on 47 plays. In Week 9 the Vaqs gained 480 yards against the Eagles, but this time they had only two plays over 10 yards, and were held to only three first downs and a mere 13 yards on five completions. Colin Rooke led the defense with 2.5 of the team’s seven sacks while Matt Szkalak collected a team-high 12 tackles. Orlando finished with a career-high 140 yards on 17 carries to become the Eagles all-time rushing leader for a quarterback with 1,137 yards.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Irvine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SM – McCroskey 10 run (Froehlich kick)
SM – FG Froehlich 22
SM – Orlando 81 run (Froehlich kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: IRV - Doomey 17-49, Paik 5-47; SM - Orlando 17-140, McCroskey 15-49
Passing: IRV - Van de Merghel 5-17-0-13; SM - Orlando 5-10-0-27, Creager 1-1-0-48
Receiving: IRV - Whitted 2-11, Little 2-2; SM - O'Gorman 2-12, Lopez 2-6, Zinn 1-48
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita avenges its worst loss by downing Irvine, 17-0, to reach the final for the third year in a row
MISSION VIEJO – Santa Margarita spent Friday night dispelling rumors that its championship reign was coming to an end.
The Eagles ended the regular season with consecutive losses to Irvine and Woodbridge, but this is the playoffs. The Eagles haven't lost a playoff game since 1995.
The Eagles avenged their worst loss of the season with a 17-0 victory against Irvine in a CIF Southern Section Division VI semifinal game at Trabuco Hills Stadium.
Santa Margarita earned its third consecutive trip to the finals after winning titles in 1996 and 1997.
"We refocused," Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan said. "It's not like we got beat by bad teams. We just kept plugging along.
"It's nice that we're going, but I want to finish this thing."
Santa Margarita (10-3) will play the winner of tonight's game between top-seeded Woodbridge and Servite at Cal State Fullerton at 7:30.
The Vaqueros (10-2-1) were co-champions of the Sea View League.
Santa Margarita held the Vaqueros to 53 yards and three first downs, and recorded seven sacks, including three by Colin Rooke.
"We just went off," Rooke said. "Their offensive line just couldn't contain us. We were just too fast for them."
Senior quarterback Greg Orlando was the catalyst on offense for the Eagles. Orlando rushed for a career-high 140 yards on 17 carries.
He had a 35-yard punt return that set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Spencer McCroskey in the first quarter. Matt Froehlich kicked a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter. Orlando capped the scoring with a dazzling 81-yard touchdown run that gave the Eagles a 17-0 lead with 3:11 left in the half.
When Irvine pounded Santa Margarita, 42-18, in Week 9, the Vaqueros had four plays for more than 50 yards, including two for more than 70.
But this time around quarterback Sean Van de Merghel completed only 5 of 17 passes for 13 yards.
By Carlos Arias
Saturday, December 5, 1998
The Orange County Register - D1
Orlando leads Eagles victory
The quarterback's big plays push Santa Margarita to a 17-0 triumph against Irvine.
MISSION VIEJO – Santa Margarita quarterback Greg Orlando said he doesn't try to do too much on the football field.
He sure fooled Irvine on Friday night. Orlando led the Eagles to a 17-0 victory over Sea View League-rival Irvine in the CIF Southern Section Division VI semifinals at Trabuco Hills Stadium.
Orlando, who played wide receiver and backed up quarterback Carson Palmer (currently starting for USC) last year, rushed for a career-high 140 yards on 17 carries, including an 81-yard touchdown run. He also had a 35-yard punt return that set up a touchdown.
"I'm not Carson," Orlando said. "I'm not that type of quarterback, I don't have that kind of style where I can sit back and pick defenses apart. I take what they give me. Sometimes I try to do too much and that gets me into trouble."
The Eagles defense did the rest as Santa Margarita, which won Southern Section titles in 1996 and 1997, earned its third consecutive trip to the finals.
"They played with more emotion for the whole game, especially in the first half," Irvine coach Terry Henigan said.
Santa Margarita limited Irvine quarterback Sean Van de Merghel to 13 yards on 5 of 17 passing and sacked him seven times, including three by senior defensive linemen Colin Rooke.
"Our defensive front really came to play," Eagles coach Jim Hartigan said. "They put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. I was really impressed with our defense."
Orlando set up Santa Margarita's first touchdown with a 35-yard punt return to Irvine's 33. A pass-interference penalty on third-and-7 gave the Eagles a first down at Irvine's 15. Two plays later, Spencer McCroskey scored on a 10-yard counter with 1:38 left in the first quarter.
Dustin Creager connected with Trent Zinn on a halfback option for a 48-yard gain that gave Santa Margarita a first down on Irvine's 23 early in the second quarter. Seven plays later, the Eagles drive stalled at the Vaqueros' 5 and junior kicker Matt Froehlich booted a 22-yard field goal for a 10-0.
Santa Margarita's next possession started at its own 15. On third-and-6 from the 19, Orlando came through again. Orlando started right, cut back to the left, broke a tackle at the 40 and sprinted down the sideline for an 81-yard touchdown with 3:11 left in the half. Orlando was whistled for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for celebrating in the end zone, but Froehlich drilled a 35-yard extra-point attempt to make it 17-0.
"He's an outstanding athlete," Hartigan said of Orlando. "He does a lot of great things with the football. He's one of the reasons we're still here."
Irvine's defense played extremely well except for the two big plays it gave up. The Vaqueros sacked Orlando five times, including two by defensive end Doug Miller. They gave the offense great field position all night, but they couldn't do anything with it.
By Carlos Arias
Friday, December 5, 1998
The Orange County Register - D10
