Eagles 21 - Los Alamitos 14
LONG BEACH, CA., September 13, 2001 – Ashton White rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, including the go ahead score with 10:42 remaining, then forced a fumble and recovered it on the Eagle 7 with only 1:20 left to lead the 21st ranked Santa Margarita Eagles to an emotional 21-14 win over the Los Alamitos Griffins (1-1) at Long Beach Veteran's Stadium. The win avenged last years 21-14 loss to the Griffins, which coincidently also ended with the losing team deep inside the opponents territory, and improved the Eagles record to 1-0-1.
The Griffins, ranked 2nd in Orange County and 3rd in CIF-SS Division I, got off to a fast start driving 61 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 lead at the 4:19 mark of the first quarter on the strength of a 19-yard Td pass from Tim Bessolo to Brandon Tripp. The Eagles drove 47 yards to the Griffin 33 at the end of the first quarter, but Marshall Tharpe's pass intended for Jason Graban was intercepted at the Los Al 12 to end the Eagle threat. The Eagle defense picked up the slack for the offense and adjusted quickly to the Griffin's shotgun offense. They limited Los Al to only 100 yards on 30 plays and six three-and-outs over their next eight possessions including the first drive on the second quarter where sophomore Joe Ramsey blocked a punt that was recovered by Cole Devitis on the Griffin 3. This set up Tharpe's one-yard Td run at the 9:25 mark to tie the score at 7-7. After an exchange of punts, senior CB Trevor Zinn intercepted a Bessolo pass at the Griffin 49. A 28-yard run by Tharpe (8 of 12 for 61 yards) and three runs by White moved the Eagles to the Griffin 16 before the drive stalled and Graban's 37-yard field goal with 1:58 left in the half came up short.
In the second half, the Griffins capitalized on a short Eagle punt and drove 47-yards on five plays capped by Quinton Jones' 27-yard Td run at the 6:28 mark to retake the lead at 14-7. The Eagles needed only 44 seconds to tie the score as White's 73-yard kickoff return and 20-yard run gave the Eagles a first-and-goal at the Griffin 6. On the next play White took it over himself to tie the game at 14-14. After a Griffin punt, the Eagles marched 73 yards on 10 plays highlighted by a 22-yard completion from Tharpe to Bobby Whithorne (seven receptions) and two key third down conversion runs by White to move to the Los Al 8 where Ashton scored the go-ahead Td at the 10:42 mark to put the Eagles ahead for good at 21-14. With 5:48 left the Griffins went on an 11-play, 84-yard drive highlighted by a 40-yard run by Joe Garcia where they faced a 2nd and goal at the Eagle seven. On the ensuing play, White stripped Bessolo of the ball and recovered the fumble himself to preserve the hard fought victory.
Defensively, the Eagles registered eight tackles for loss, four sacks, three forced fumbles and two turnovers. They limited Bessolo to only 111 yards passing only one week after the senior standout passed for 425. Leading the charge were White (five tackles, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery), Zinn (nine tackles and one interception) and sophomore defensive tackle Matt Rupp (five tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble).
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Los Alamitos | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
LA – Tripp 19 pass from Bessolo (Gamarnick kick)
SM – Tharpe 1 run (Graben kick)
LA – Jones 27 run (Gamarnick kick)
SM – White 6 run (Graben kick)
SM – White 7 run (Graben kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - White 26-122, Tharpe 6-35; LA - Bessolo 11-36, Jones 7-35
Passing: SM - Tharpe 8-13-1-69; LA - Bessolo 10-14-1-124
Receiving: SM - Whithorne 6-52, Nylander 1-4; LA - Tripp 5-69, Jones 4-38
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita makes it special night
The Eagles turn back a late Los Alamitos drive for a 21-14 victory
LONG BEACH – It was a game that could not have been easy for either team to play.
In its final moments, Ashton White, who had done so much to help his Santa Margarita team, fittingly made yet another big play to preserve the Eagles' victory.
With Los Alamitos only a few yards away from a tying touchdown, junior running back/safety White stripped the ball from Los Alamitos quarterback Tim Bessolo and recovered it at the 7-yard line to save Santa Margarita's 21-14 victory Thursday night at Veterans Stadium.
It was a result Santa Margarita needed. The Eagles were No. 1 in Orange County in the Register's preseason rankings but dropped to fourth after last week's opening 17-17 tie with Ayala of Chino Hills. Los Alamitos was ranked second in the county this week.
It was a challenge for both teams to focus solely on playing football, given the tragic events that happened on the East Coast on Tuesday. There was an extended moment of silence before the game, and spectators were asked to hold hands during the playing of the national anthem.
"The kids did a good job keeping their heads on their shoulders," Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan said. "They came out ready to play."
Los Alamitos coach John Barnes acknowledged the difficulty inherent in getting players' minds on a football game but refused to exploit the possible excuse.
"It's been an incredible week for America," he said. "But it was like playing on a wet field. One team has to play on the wet field, and so does the other team."
Barnes said the game was decided on two special-teams plays.
The first was a second-quarter punt by the Griffins from deep in their own territory that was blocked by the Eagles' Joe Ramsey and recovered by Cole DeVitis at the Griffins 3-yard line. Santa Margarita soon scored on a 1-yard run by quarterback Marshall Tharpe to tie it, 7-7.
The second was a 72-yard kickoff return by White, after a Los Alamitos touchdown (on a 27-yard run by Quenton Jones, a junior transfer from Artesia of Lakewood) that had put the Griffins ahead, 14-7. Three plays later, White scored on a 6-yard run to tie it, 14-14, with 5:44 left in the third quarter.
White, who finished with 122 yards on 26 carries, provided the winning points on a 7-yard touchdown run with 10:42 left in the game.
"The difference was special teams," Barnes said. "That kickoff return and that blocked punt. That was the difference. No doubt about it."
"We made a lot of big plays in this one," Hartigan said. "Our defense played well, and we got some turnovers. Those turnovers were huge for us."
It was the first nonleague, regular-season loss for Los Alamitos since losing to St. John Bosco, 21-20, in 1990. The loss ends a 52-game nonleague winning streak.
By Steve Fryer
Saturday, September 14, 2001
The Orange County Register - D1
