Eagles 35 - Bishop Amat 26
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 15, 1999 – The Eagles ushered in Division I Catholic school competition with a solid 35-26 win over previously undefeated Bishop Amat before 6,000 at Saddleback College. The match up pitted two of the three winningest programs in State history and to this point was the highest profile opponent the Eagles had ever faced. The Lancers (5-1) came into the game ranked No. 1 in Southern California, No. 2 in the State and 17th in the Nation but could not stop the Eagles' (5-1) balanced attack led by Jimmy Herzog's 118 yards rushing and three touchdowns and Chris Rix's 9 of 14 passing effort. After the Lancers went up 6-0 early, the Eagles went on a four-play forty-yard drive capped by Herzog's first score from two yards out to give them a lead they would not relinquish. Another Herzog run - this time from one-yard out - at the 3:11 mark of the second quarter put the Eagles up 14-6. In the third quarter, the Eagles scored three unanswered touchdowns to build a 32-12 lead. Scoring for the Eagles were Herzog from three-yards out, Rix on a four-yard bootleg and Thompson on a 23-yard fumble return. The Eagles, who had trouble with PATs earlier in the game, relied on sophomore Curtis Cooper who thrilled the home crowd with a 32-yard field goal on his first varsity kick to close out the scoring at the 4:15 mark of the fourth quarter after Bishop Amat had scored on their two previous drives to move within six at 32-26. The Eagles held the Lancers without a pass completion in 11 attempts while linebackers Matt Szkalak (13 tackles) and Matt Vogel (10 tackles) also recovered key fumbles in spearheading the defensive effort.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 7 | 18 | 3 | 35 |
| Bishop Amat | 6 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 26 |
BA – Blay-Meizah 1 run (kick failed)
SM – Herzog 2 run (Creager kick)
SM – Herzog 1 run (Creager kick)
BA – McCleskey 12 run (run failed)
SM – Herzog 3 run (kick failed)
SM – Rix 4 run (kick failed)
SM – Thompson 23 fumble return (run failed)
BA – Russell 1 run (Blackwood kick)
BA – McCleskey 58 run (Blackwood kick)
SM – C. Cooper 32 FG
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: BA - McCleskey 29-224, Russell 5-110; SM - Herzog 26-118, Rix 13-64
Passing: BA - Russell 0-8-0-0, Segovia 0-2-0-0; SM - Rix 9-15-0-145
Receiving: SM - Wilson 3-21, Thompson 2-56, Zinn 2-41
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Eagles survive battle
MISSION VIEJO – Santa Margarita withstood a fourth-quarter barrage to pull out a 35-26 upset of Bishop Amat of La Puente on Friday night in front of 5,500 at Saddleback College.
The Eagles led 32-12 after three quarters, but Bishop Amat, ranked No. 1 in Division I and No. 17 in the nation by USA Today, closed the gap to 32-26 with two quick scores early in the fourth quarter.
Bishop Amat tailback Donnie McCleskey, who gained 120 yards on 19 carries in the first half, sat out the third quarter after injuring a shoulder on a 12-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter.
But McCleskey, who finished with 224 yards on 28 carries, returned in the fourth and scored on a 58-yard run that left the Lancers (5-1) six points behind with 8:37 left.
"They kept fighting back," Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan said. "We had a great fourth-quarter battle."
Santa Margarita quarterback Chris Rix, who transferred from Bishop Amat during the summer, came through with a solid performance, completing 9 of 15 passes for 145 yards and scrambling for 64 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.
Rix completed 7 of 10 passes for 109 yards in the second half.
None was more important than a 38-yard screen to Tyler Thompson on second-and-17 that gave the Eagles (5-1) a first down at Bishop Amat's 23. Six plays later the Eagles stalled at the 14.
Eagles kicker David Doomey was academically ineligible for the game. Backup Dustin Creager was 2 of 4 on extra-point attempts, so Hartigan called on sophomore Curtis Cooper, who had kicked a 42-yard field goal Thursday night in a junior varsity game.
Cooper drilled a 32-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 35-26 lead with 4:15 remaining.
"That gave us some breathing room," Rix said. "That made it where they needed two scores to catch us."
The Lancers got the ball back with 4:10 left at their 28 and drove to Santa Margarita's 26 before Matt Vogel recovered a fumble by McCleskey to seal the victory.
By Carlos Arias
Saturday, October 16, 1999
The Orange County Register - D11
