Bishop Amat - Game Notes
This is the Eagles' 141st varsity game and 70th road game. They have posted a record of 103-36-1 (.739) as they enter Week 6 of their 12th varsity season. Santa Margarita's all-time road record is 47-22 (.681).
The Eagles' .739 winning percentage is the second best in Orange County. Santa Margarita and Bishop Amat rank among the winningest teams in State history:
The Eagles are ranked 10th in Division I and have been ranked in the Division I Top 10 for 13 of the past 16 polls. They are unranked in Orange County, but have been in the Top 10 for 54 of the past 62 polls.
This is the second ever meeting between the Bishop Amat Lancers and Santa Margarita. The 1999 contest marked the highest profile game that the Eagles had played in up until that time with the Eagles prevailing 35-26. Entering the game Bishop Amat was ranked 1st in CIF-SS Division I and in Southern California, 2nd in the State, 7th in the West by USA Today and 17th in the Nation per Fox Sports West's "Fab 50". A recap of this game is included herein.
The Lancers compete in the Del Rey League and are a perennial power in CIF-SS Division I. The Lancers are 1-4, after a tough 56-6 loss to national power De La Salle, but could easily be 4-1. The Eagles and Lancers have played one common opponent - Tustin - with Bishop Amat losing 20-16 in Week 3.
The Eagles have done well over the years against Division I teams posting an 18-10 (.643) all-time record including a 1-1 mark against Del Rey League teams.
Head Coaches
Eagle Head Coach Jim Hartigan is 103-36-1 (.739) in his
12th season as varsity Head Coach. Overall Coach Hartigan
has a 119-39-2 (.750) 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. Coach Hartigan has directed his squads into the playoffs
in ten of their 11 seasons and has never posted a losing
season. Jim has coached in three CIF Championship Games,
winning two, and several exciting games including two recognized
as State Games of the Week during the 1998 season, a National
Game of the Year (the 1997 CIF Championship Game) and the
1997 Orange County All-Star Game. The Lancers are led by
Bishop Amat grad and 2nd-year coach Mike DiFiori who is
6-9 (.400) overall.
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
