Eagles 43 - San Clemente 7
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 1, 1999 – The Eagles were clicking on all cylinders as they rolled up a school record 435 yards rushing in routing the San Clemente Tritons 43-7 before a Homecoming Crowd of 6,000 at Saddleback College. The win evened the Eagles record at 2-2 and avenged last seasons upset win by San Clemente which ended the Eagles' 28-game winning streak. Santa Margarita scored on five of its first seven possessions and scored in every quarter for the first time this season. The Eagles first score was set up by Matt Szkalak's first interception setting up a four-yard run by Jimmy Herzog (17 carries for 142 yards, 2 Tds). The Eagles took advantage of a muffed punt return at the Triton 11 where Tyler Thompson scored from two yards out. A recovered onsides kick led to a David Doomey 24-yard field goal and a 17-0 lead. Another Szkalak interception led to a 40-yard Td run by Chris Rix (7 carries for 98yards, 2 Tds), and a fumble recovery by John Cappelletti led to a Herzog score from 7 yards out with 4:22 left gave the Eagles a 29-0 halftime lead. A 52-yard run by Rix and a 41-yard run by Freshman Ashton White (6 carries for 77 yards in his varsity debut) closed out the Eagle scoring. Defensively, the Eagles limited the Triton's "Fly" offense to 218 yards after allowing 446 the year before. Szkalak's 15 tackles led the way while Matt Vogel and Jimmy Whithorne added 12 each.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 43 |
| San Clemente | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
SM – Herzog 4 run (Doomey kick)
SM – Thompson 2 run (Doomey kick)
SM – Doomey 24 FG
SM – Rix 40 run (kick failed)
SM – Herzog 7 run (run failed)
SM – Rix 52 run (Doomey kick)
SC – Coviello 1 run (Hollis kick)
SM – White 40 run (Doomey kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SC - Allen 21-129, Smith 10-40; SM - Herzog 18-149, Rix 7-97, White 6-71
Passing: SC - Coviello 6-14-2-37; SM, Rix 5-12-1-63
Receiving: SC - McCarthy 2-24, Allen 2-1; SM - Creager 3-34, Doomey 1-15
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita gets its revenge
The Eagles rout San Clemente to avoid their first three-game slide
MISSION VIEJO – San Clemente had the unfortunate luck of playing Santa Margarita on a week when the Eagles were trying to avert the first three-game losing streak in their football history.
As if the Eagles needed more motivation, it was also Santa Margarita's homecoming game and the OCN game of the week. Oh yeah, San Clemente also snapped Santa Margarita's 28-game winning streak last year.
Santa Margarita (2-2) showed off a bruising rushing attack, led by running back Jimmy Herzog with 149 yards and two touchdowns, and pounded out a 43-7 victory over the Tritons (2-2) Friday night in front of 4,200 at Saddleback College.
"The most important thing is we got the win," Eagles coach Jim Hartigan said. "We didn't talk at all about them beating us last year. We've never lost three in a row, and we weren't going to let that happen."
Santa Margarita started a little shaky. After the Eagles went three-and-out on their first possession, San Clemente drove to Santa Margarita's 26-yard line before senior defensive lineman John Cappelletti stopped Tritons running back James Allen for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-2.
Herzog fumbled on San Clemente's 39 to end Santa Margarita's next series, but the Eagles defense came through again when linebacker Jimmy Withorne tipped Dan Coviello's pass and Matt Szkalak got the first of his two interceptions.
That's when Santa Margarita's offense got rolling. Florida State-bound quarterback Chris Rix completed a 9-yard pass to Adam Schmit, and the Eagles followed with six consecutive running plays out of the double-wing alignment.
Herzog, who spent most of the night bouncing off defenders and plowing over tacklers, capped the drive with a 4-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 1:47 left in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, Tyler Thompson scored on a 2-yard run, Travis Doomey kicked a 24-yard field goal, Rix scored on a 40-yard scramble, and Herzog scored on a 7-yard run to make it 29-0 at the break. Both of Herzog's touchdowns as well as Thompson's came out of the double-wing.
"We played Tustin all those years (the past four years in the playoffs), and we always had trouble stopping (the double-wing)," Hartigan said. "We made it a part of our offense."
Herzog did most of his damage in the first half with 145 yards on 17 carries.
Rix continued to struggle throwing the ball, although a number of his passes were dropped, and finished 5 of 12 for 63 yards with one interception. But Rix did show off his mobility and speed with seven carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns. His 52-yard scoring run in the third quarter on a busted play increased Santa Margarita's lead to 36-0.
San Clemente averted the shutout when it put together a seven-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Coviello capped the drive with 1-yard plunge.
By Carlos Arias
Saturday, October 2, 1999
The Orange County Register - D1
