EAGLES 31 - EL TORO 24
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 16, 1998 – The Eagles (5-1) opened defense of their back-to-back Sea View League Championships with a 31-24 win over the El Toro Chargers (2-4) at Trabuco Hills High School. The win was the Eagles 12th consecutive league triumph and improved the Eagles to 7-0 in Sea View League openers. Santa Margarita played well in the first quarter as they have all season as they built a 17-0 lead behind touchdown passes of 5-and 55-yards from Greg Orlando to Mike O’Gorman and a 24-yard field goal by Matt Froehlich. El Toro QB Mike Strand was sacked on the games first play by Colin Rooke and could not get on track all night, but they relied on their running attack to stay in the game. After a 68-yard run by ET fullback Ryan Switzer, Spencer McCroskey closed out the first half scoring with a 23-yard scamper giving the Eagles a 24-7 lead. A field goal and a two-yard run by Switzer brought the Chargers within eight at 24-16, but a seven yard run by McCroskey with 9:20 remaining increased the lead to 31-16. A touchdown run of 50 yards by Switzer with 3:49 left gave the Chargers hope, but Trent Zinn’s recovery of the on-sides kick sealed the Eagle win. O’Gorman finished with 116 yards on six receptions, and McCroskey rushed for 125 yards on 21 carries. Rooke and fellow defensive end Will Watson each led the defense with 2.5 sacks each.
| Santa Margarita | 17 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| El Toro | 0 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 24 |
SM – O'Gorman 5 pass from Orlando (Froehlich kick)
SM – FG Froehlich 27
SM – O'Gorman 55 pass from Orlando (Froehlich kick)
ET – Switzer 2 run (Marquez kick)
SM – McCroskey 23 run (Froehlich kick)
ET – FG Marquez 40
ET – Switzer 68 run (kick failed)
SM – McCroskey 7 run (Froehlich kick)
ET – Switzer 50 run (Switzer run)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - McCroskey 20-176, Thompson 10-79; ET - Switzer 26-250, Johnson 1-minus 1
Passing: SM - Orlando 7-11-0-127; ET - Strand 66-13-0-73
Receiving: SM - O'Gorman 6-116, Lopez 1-11; ET - Lightner 2-30, Dove 1-25
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita denies El Toro a victory, 31-24
MISSION VIEJO – A powerful running performance by Ryan Switzer wasn't enough to beat No. 6 Santa Margarita. Instead, the Eagles turned away El Toro for a 31-24 victory in their Sea View League opener Friday night at Trabuco Hills High.
Switzer carried the ball 26 times for 250 yards and three touchdowns. But Santa Margarita scored early and never looked back.
“We were fortunate enough to make the big plays early, and it helped. We won the football game," said Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan.
Santa Margarita (5-1, 1-0) took control early. The Eagles had an opening drive of 70 yards on nine plays, capped by 5-yard touchdown pass by Greg Orlando to Mike O'Gorman for the 7-0 lead.
A 27-yard field goal by Matt Froehlich followed by a 55-yard touchdown pass Orlando to O'Gorman with 44 seconds left in the first quarter put Santa Margarita ahead 17-0.
The Eagles also proved they could score on the ground with touchdown runs by Spencer McCroskey of 23 yards and 7 yards in second and fourth quarters, respectively.
The Santa Margarita defense turned in a good performance, sacking El Toro quarterback Mike Strand eight times and holding the Chargers to 73 yards passing on the night.
By Mike Cruz
Saturday, October 17, 1998
The Orange County Register - D13
