Eagles 41 - Servite 26
FULLERTON, CA., November 10, 2000 – For the second consecutive week Cal State Fullerton served as the site of a significant milestone in Santa Margarita history as the Eagles defeated the Servite Friars 41-26 to capture their first Serra League Championship and a return visit to the Division I Playoffs. Tyler Thompson capped a sensational regular season by rushing for a career-high 258 yards on a school-record 35 carries and three touchdowns to cement his claim as the Serra League MVP, while backfield mate Ashton White added 160 yards of his own to help the Eagles finish with season-highs of 419 rushing yards and 519 total yards overall.
The Eagles (8-2, 3-0) struck first as Thompson carried five times for 78 yards including a 55-yard scamper on the opening drive and the senior captain took it in from 13 yards out at the 10:07 mark for a 7-0 lead. Santa Margarita increased the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter on a 12-yard TD run by Thompson set up by a key 19-yard completion on fourth-and-14 from Matt Dlugolecki to Brad Slinkard. Servite (7-3, 1-2) struck back with a nine-play 65 yard drive capped by a six-yard TD run by Justin Domineck with 0:32 left in the half. The Eagles capitalized on a mistake to increase the lead to 21-7 early in the third quarter as White intercepted an Adam Ernst pass and returned it 18 yards to the Servite 18 where five plays later he took it in from four yards out. Servite didn't quit as they marched 82 yards on 13 plays that ended on a 39-yard TD run by Domineck at the 3:35 mark of the third quarter. However, the Eagles needed only three plays to score again as Dlugolecki (four of seven for 100 yards) hit Slinkard on a 60-yard TD pass to increase the lead to 27-14. A 32-yard TD pass from Ernst to TE with 11:53 left closed the Eagle lead to 27-20. The momentum quickly shifted back to the Eagles as White returned the kickoff 64 yards to the Servite 32 where Santa Margarita needed only five runs by Thompson, the last from one yard out, to increase the lead to 34-20. After another score by Servite made it 34-26, Dlugolecki led his team on an eight play drive highlighted by a key 12-yard completion to Tim Clark on third-and six and a 27-yard run by White and capped by Dlugolecki's one-yard touchdown run at the 6:10 mark to close out the scoring. Trevor Zinn's spectacular diving interception at the Eagle 20 sealed the Eagle win. Senior linebacker Matt Vogel spearheaded the defensive effort with a team-high 11 tackles and Thomas Cappelletti added nine and a forced fumble.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 41 |
| Servite | 0 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 26 |
SM – Thompson 12 run (Cooper kick)
SM – Thompson 13 run (Cooper kick)
SER – Domineck 6 run (Rizzuto kick)
SM – White 4 run (Cooper kick)
SER – Domineck 39 run (Rizzuto kick)
SM – Jalandoni 60 pass from Dlugolecki (kick failed)
SER – Morris 33 pass from Ernst (kick failed)
SM – Thompson 1 run (Cooper kick)
SER – Ernst 1 run (kick failed)
SM – Dlugolecki 1 run (Cooper kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Thompson 34 --247, White 24-161; Ser - Domineck 13-96, Mason 11-40
Passing: SM - Dlugolecki 4-7-0-97; Ser - Ernst 10-18-2-198
Receiving: SM - Ingram 2-77, Clark 1-12; Ser - Morris 5-99, George 2-67
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Title proves Eagles belong
FULLERTON – When Santa Margarita was moved up to a Division I league last season, there was some doubt that the Eagles could handle the tough competition in the Serra League.
Doubt no more.
One week after beating Mater Dei for the first time, Santa Margarita defeated Servite, 41-26, Friday night at Cal State Fullerton to win the Serra League championship.
The Eagles went 3-0 in league play, knocking off St. John Bosco of Bellflower before last week's monumental triumph over Mater Dei and Friday's slugfest with Servite.
Santa Margarita won its first league championship since the Eagles were Sea View League champs in 1997, when they won their second of back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division V championships.
Santa Margarita will go into the Division I playoffs as the Serra League's No. 1 representative and will have a home game Friday.
Servite is not guaranteed a playoff berth. The Serra League is a four-team league, and only the top two finishers (Santa Margarita and Mater Dei, which is No. 2 because it beat Servite two weeks ago) automatically receive playoff spots. To get into the Division I playoffs, Servite will have to be rewarded one of Division I's three at-large berths.
With a 7-3 overall record and losses to Santa Margarita, Mater Dei and Edison -- all ranked in the Division I top 10 -- Servite is in good position to receive an at-large berth. The Friars can expect to travel Friday to play a very good league champion -- such as Sunset League champion Esperanza, perhaps.
The Eagles used the formula that has worked the past four weeks: give the ball to Tyler Thompson and Ashton White.
Thompson rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries. White ran for 161 and a touchdown on 24 attempts.
The Eagles made no turnovers. They were 9 for 10 on third-down conversions and 2 for 2 on fourth-down conversions.
By Steve Fryer
Saturday, November 11, 2000
The Orange County Register
