Eagles 21 - Ayala 21
FULLERTON, CA., September 6, 2001 – Marshall Tharpe's two-point conversion run on the heels of Ashton White's five-yard Td jaunt with 4:23 left in the game helped the Eagles post a 21-21 tie with the Ayala Bulldogs before an estimated 4,000 at Cal State Fullerton. The tie with Ayala, ranked No. 4 in Division II, not only extended the Eagles Week 1 unbeaten streak to seven games, but marked the second year in a row that the Eagles opened up at Cal State Fullerton against the Bulldogs and found themselves down early before coming back and avoiding defeat. Last year, the Eagles rallied from a 17-0 deficit to win 22-17.
Early on the Eagles had difficulty adjusting to the Bulldogs option attack and were held in check offensively mostly by miscues and dropped passes that forced punts on their first three possessions. Despite being outgained 206-45, mostly as a result of Robert Meza's 85-yard run via an option play, the Eagles were down only 7-0 entering the second quarter. After Meza returned a punt 52 yards to the Eagle 16 early in the second quarter, sophomore LB Jack Meehan registered the first of four Eagle turnovers by picking off a pass at the Eagle 14 leading to a Santa Margarita's first sustained drive of the night. Unfortunately the ten-play drive stalled at the Ayala 31; however, the defensive momentum continued on the next series as senior LB Kyle Rutenbar returned a Charles Douglas pass 50 yards for a Td at the 2:19 mark of the second quarter tying the score at 7-7. With under 1:00 left in the half, Ayala capitalized on an Eagle fumble at their own 27 leading to a 5-yard Td pass from Douglas to Jim Johnson with 0:01 left on the clock.
The Eagle defense came out firing in the second half limiting the Bulldogs to 15 yards on 16 plays and only two first downs - one by penalty - in the third quarter. On the first series, a botched snap on an Ayala punt set up a four-yard Td run by White at the 10:05 mark to close the gap to 14-13; however, the PAT by Jason Graban was missed. Chaz Brewer's 53-yard run on a wing reverse early in the fourth quarter set up his own 13-yard Td run with 10:00 left in the game giving Ayala a 21-13 lead. From there the Eagles went on a 12-play drive consuming nearly six minutes culminating with White's Td run and Tharpe's conversion. Santa Margarita regained possession at their own 26 with 1:16 left but managed only one completion before punting and settling for their first tie since a 7-7 deadlock with Santa Maria in 1991.
White, who finished with 100 yards on 25 carries including four key third down conversions, posted his fourth career 100-yard game and third in five weeks while cracking the 1,000 yard mark for his career in only his 13th varsity game. Defensively, the Eagles were led by Jack Meehan's 10 tackles, interception and fumble recovery while Johnnie Walker (forced fumble) and Mike Leiter (1/2 sack) added 10 tackles themselves.
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| Ayala | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
AYA – Meza 85 run (Halcovich kick)
SM – Rutenbar 50 interception return (Graben kick)
AYA – Johnson 5 pass from Douglas (Halcovich kick)
SM – White 4 run (kick failed)
AYA – Brewer 13 run (Halcovich kick)
SM – White 5 run (Tharpe run)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: AYA - Brewer, 15-115, Meza, 5-95; SM - White, 25-98, McWhorter, 3-10
Passing: AYA - Douglas, 7-12-2-145; SM - Tharpe, 8-16-0-69
Receiving: AYA - Brewer, 2-14, Meza, 1-42; SM - Widner, 3-21, DeVitis, 2-24
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
No. 1 Santa Margarita is fit to be tied by Ayala
FULLERTON – Santa Margarita entered Thursday's opener against Ayala with several lofty preseason rankings, including the top spot in The Register's preseason poll.
But the Eagles left Cal State Fullerton with a controversial 21-21 tie and question marks on each side of the ball.
Ayala, which was 7-3-2 last season, appeared to be headed toward setting up at least a potential game-winning field goal with 1:28 left in the fourth. Ayala's offense faced a fourth-and-1 at Santa Margarita's 43-yard line coming out of a timeout.
But Ayala's drive was killed by an unsportsmanlike penalty against its offensive coordinator, who was penalized for having his headset on during an on-field huddle during the timeout. The penalty flag dropped, and Ayala's sideline erupted with anger as the Bulldogs were sent back 15 yards and forced to punt.
Ayala still had a shot in the final seconds. After forcing Santa Margarita to punt, Ayala completed a 42-yard pass to Santa Margarita's 22-yard line with one second left. Ayala tried to get its field goal team on the field, but time expired.
Santa Margarita entered the game 12th in the nation by USA Today, 19th by Rivals.com, 24th by Student Sports, 25th by Prep Gridiron National Top 25 and fourth in CIF Division I. But Ayala coach Lou Randall said his team, ranked fifth in Division II, didn't secure a moral victory Thursday.
"We felt our opportunity to win the football game was taken away," Randall said. "Those (referees) should be window-dressing. ... (The referee) went over the line."
Ayala's coaches had been warned by the officials at the end of the first half about wearing a headset in the huddle. Randall's son, Lou Randall Jr., was called for the final unsportsmanlike penalty. Randall said his son had his headset around his neck when the call was made.
Santa Margarita tied the score with 4:23 left. Ashton White score on a 5-yard run, and quarterback Marshall Tharpe ran in the two-point conversion. Ayala racked up 296 yards on the ground.
By Dan Albano
Saturday, September 7, 2001
The Orange County Register
