EAGLES 17 - EL MODENA 10
FULLERTON, CA., September 12, 2002 – The Eagles began their 14th varsity season with a methodical 17-10 over the El Modena Vanguards before approximately 3,500 fans at Cal State Fullerton behind the strong running of Ashton White and a sensational contribution from backup QB Mark Sanchez. Sanchez, a sophomore, came off the bench in relief of starter Case Colaw and facing a 3rd and 15 on his first varsity snap threw a 55-yard scoring strike to Bobby Whithorne on the first play of the fourth quarter to put Santa Margarita up 14-10. The Eagles (1-0) subsequently forced two fourth quarter turnovers and kicked a late field goal to hold of a spirited El Modena (0-1) team to improve to 2-0-1 in their last three season openers at Titan Stadium.
Until the Whithorne touchdown El Modena had built a 10-7 lead through three quarters largely on the legs of Daniel Dixon (154 yards) and ineffective play by the Eagle offense. Both offenses were hurt by penalties and typical first game mistakes, but the defenses came to play in that it was a physical smash mouth affair that featured plenty of hard hitting and 27 workhorse carries by both Dixon and White (91 yards). The Vanguards got on the board first after a 24-yard Dixon run set up a first and goal on the Eagle nine. Santa Margarita held firm and forced a 24-yard field goal by Steven Sanada that put El Mo up 3-0 with 7:13 left in the quarter. The Eagles responded with a 14-play, 61-yard drive capped by a one-yard td run by White - the 12th game in a row where he has scored a Td - with 11:25 left in the first half gave the Eagles a 7-3 lead. Ashton, clearly playing at less than 100%, showed he was ready to make a statement as he plowed ahead for two key 3rd down conversions to keep the drive alive. After an exchange of punts, Dixon capped a 56-yard drive by scoring from seven yards out with 2:13 before intermission gave El Mo a 10-7 lead they would hold until the Whithorne touchdown.
The Eagle defense, picking up the slack for the offense, responded in
the third quarter by forcing two punts and holding the Vanguards on downs
on another drive, but the team was only able to muster two yards of offense
on eight plays before the switchover at QB to start the fourth quarter.
From that point Santa Margarita took command of the game by gaining 101
of their 187 total yards and winning the battle of special teams and the
line of scrimmage. Will Johnson's 25-yard field goal, set up by a Ryan
Neinhius' 28-yard punt return and 9-and 11-yard runs by White with 4:53
left increased the lead to 17-10. The Eagles stopped the next El Mo drive
with 1:17 left when Nienhuis, a junior making his first start at safety,
forced a fumble by Dixon on the Eagle 28 that was recovered by CB Mark
Johnson (11 tackles). The Vanguards promptly used three timeouts on defense
and got the ball back once more but junior LB Thomas Ramirez's interception
of a Colin Chase pass with 0:36 left sealed the victory.
Besides Whithorne, who led all receivers with five receptions
for 78 yards and also logged five tackles, other top performers
included LBs Jack Meehan and Dustin Slinkard who recorded 17 and
15 tackles respectively. Junior G/DT Matt Rupp also enjoyed a
strong game collecting a team-high 2.5 decleaters and his first
sack of the season. Ryan Nienhuis also stood out as he who averaged
20.5 yards on two punt returns, forced a fumble and registered
eight tackles.
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| El Modena | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
ELM – FG Sanada 21
SM – White 1 run (W. Johnson kick)
ELM – Dixon 7 run (Sanada kick)
SM – Whithorne 55 pass from Sanchez (W. Johnson kick)
SM – FG W. Johnson 25
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: EM - Dixon 27-154, Pitre 9-41; SM - White 27-87, Whithorne 2-12
Passing: EM - Chase 3-8-1-25; SM - Sanchez 2-3-0-66, Colaw 3-7-0-13
Receiving: EM - Carter 2-10, Mitchell 1-11; SM - Whithorne 5-79
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita's Sanchez has electric debut
He throws a winning TD pass on his first varsity play to beat El Modena
FULLERTON – Mark Sanchez probably will not forget his first play in a varsity football game.
Sanchez, a sophomore quarterback at Santa Margarita, threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Whithorne as the Eagles defeated El Modena, 17-10, at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night in the season opener for both schools.
Sanchez entered the game for the first play of the fourth quarter with Santa Margarita trailing, 10-7. On third-and-15 at the Eagles' 45-yard line, Sanchez connected with Whithorne, who caught the ball at the El Modena 35 with no Vanguard defenders between him and the end zone.
Will Johnson added a 25-yard field goal with 4:53 remaining.
It was a grind-it-out victory for Santa Margarita, rated fifth in the Register's preseason Orange County rankings. Senior running back/safety Ashton White, All-County first team and the Serra League's player of the year last season, was far from full speed. He is recovering from summer arthroscopic surgery that repaired a torn medial collateral in his right knee.
"I'm about 80 percent," said White, son of former USC and Rams running back Charles White. "I just had to get used to getting hit again. As the game went on, I got more adrenaline, I guess."
White, who wore a brace on the right knee, finished with 87 yards on 27 carries. He had eight games of 100 or more yards last season. Thursday night, White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, his 12th consecutive game in which he has scored at least one touchdown.
He was not the most productive running back in the game. El Modena senior Daniel Dixon, the Century League's player of the year in 2001, rushed for 154 yards on 27 carries. His 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter game provided a 10-7 lead for the 10th-ranked Vanguards, who impressed White.
"They're a tough bunch of kids," White said. "Dixon is a great running back."
Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan hoped the insertion of Sanchez would produce an offensive spark.
"We made the decision to put Mark in there for that third-down play," Hartigan said, "and he popped it to Bobby on the post pattern. That really helped settle us down."
Whithorne, who has committed to Washington, had five receptions for 79 yards.
El Modena had possession twice in final five minutes. The Vanguards best chance at tying the game ended when Dixon, on the end of a 16-yard run, was hit by two Eagles defenders and lost the resulting fumble at Santa Margarita's 28-yard line.
The Eagles' Thomas Ramirez sealed the victory with an interception with less than 30 seconds to go.
By Steve Fryer
Saturday, September 13, 2002
The Orange County Register - Sports 1
