Dana Hills - Game Notes
This is the second game between Santa Margarita and the Dana Hills Dolphins. Last year, Spencer McCroskey rushed for a career-high 147 yards and the Eagle defense forced three turnovers to lead Santa Margarita to its 28th consecutive win with a 26-15 victory. On Dana Hills' first offensive series, defensive end Colin Rooke had one of the best defensive plays in Eagle history as he blew up an option play in the backfield, forced a fumble, recovered it and raced 49 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead. Santa Margarita QB Greg Orlando scored from one yard out to build the lead to 7-3 with 8:38 left in the third quarter. Dana Hills did not give up as they went on a 16-play 80-yard drive capped by a fumble recovered in the Eagle endzone cutting the lead to 17-9. The Eagles put the game away on a nine-play 71-yard drive capped by Matt Froehlich's second field goal, from 25-yards, and a seven-yard touchdown run by Orlando with 4:16 left to increase the lead to 26-9. Defensively, John Bennett recorded 14 tackles and Matt Szkalak chipped in 12. Trent Zinn picked up three tackles and also his first career interception.
Dana Hills is 0-2 after losses to Fountain Valley and Los Alamitos. They finished the 1998 season 4-6.
Santa Margarita is 37-18 (.673) all-time against teams from the southern part of Orange County.
QUICK FACTS
This is Santa Margarita's 127th varsity game, and 66th
home game. The Eagles are currently 95-30-1 (.758) as they
enter Week 3 of their 11th varsity season. 1999 is the Eagles
first season competing in CIF-SS Division I.
The Eagles' all-time home record is 52-12-1 (.808), and they are 47-10-1 (.819) at Saddleback College.
Santa Margarita is currently ranked 4th in Orange County. Eagle teams have been ranked in the Orange County Top 10 for 36 of the past 37 polls, and 45 of the past 47. They are also ranked 8th in CIF Division I.
The Eagles loss to Carlsbad was only the second time that they have lost their second game of the season. They are 9-1 in Week 3 games with their only loss at home to Servite in 1996 (38-27).
The Eagles are averaging 22.0 points per game in 1999, slightly behind last year's 23.9 average, but far behind their all-time average of 28.7 and season average of 46.5 points per game set in 1997. That year the Eagles set a team record with 88 touchdowns and established an Orange County record with 651 points.
Santa Margarita has converted all eight kicks this year and have made an amazing 215 of their past 241 kicks (.892) since the start of the 1996 season. In 1998, they were 35 of 37 in PATs, and 11 of 18 in field goals. In the past 33 games, they have blocked 19 kicks, and allowed only 39 of 51 PAT kicks (.765).
In their last 17 games the Eagles have allowed only 106 pass completions, an average of 6.2 per game. In the past 34 games, opponents have completed only 39.8% of their passes (256 of 644) for 3,431 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Since 1996, the average halftime score has been 21 to 7.
COACHES
Eagle Head Coach Jim Hartigan is 95-30-1 (.758) in his
11th season as varsity Head Coach. Overall Coach Hartigan
has a 111-33-2 (.767) if you include 10-0 and 6-3-1 lower
level teams that he led in 1987 and 1988 respectively before
the Eagles fielded varsity teams. He was honored as the
both the 1996 and 1997 Daily Pilot Sea View League Coach
of the Year, CIF-SS Division V Coach of the Year and the
National Football Foundation Orange County Coach of the
Year. The Dolphins are led by fourth-year coach Scott Orloff
who has a 14-18-1 (.439) record.
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
