EAGLES 28 - FOUNTAIN VALLEY 7
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA., October 3, 2002 – Santa Margarita shook off a sluggish first half and used the running of Ashton White to score on three of their first four second half possessions to post a 28-7 win over the winless Fountain Valley Barons before 2,500 at Huntington Beach High School. The win improved the Eagles to 4-0 on the season and marks their best start since the 1997 team went 14-0. Fountain Valley fell to 0-4.
The Eagles' opening drive started out promising as a 40-yard run by Chase McWhorter went deep into Baron territory; however it was called back due to a holding penalty and the Eagles were not able to maintain the momentun and turned the ball over on downs. On their second drive, McWhorter, starting in place of White, broke off a 34-yard run to the Baron 32. A 12-yard reception by Mark Restelli gave the Eagles a first down at the Baron 20 where QB Case Colaw found Bobby Whithorne three plays later for a 20-yard scoring strike with 2:13 left in the quarter giving the visitors a 7-0 lead. Fountain Valley responded by going on a 10-play, 74-yard drive capped by Ryan Best's five-yard touchdown run with 10:12 left in the half to tie the score. Clipping and holding penalties sabotaged the nest two Santa Margarita drives once they reached midfield, but the Barons were unable to capitalize and the half ended 7-7.
The third quarter started out with a bang as McWhorter returned the kickoff 46 yards to the Fountain Valley 44. The Eagles didn't score on that drive, but it marked the return of White who sat out the first half. On their next three drives the Eagles marched 62, 71 and 43 yards to turn a tight game into a 28-7 runaway. On the first drive, Whithorne displayed his all-around skill by finding Mark Johnson on a 48-yard end-around pass to set up a first-and-goal on the Baron five. Three plays later White plowed in from the one to make it 14-7 at the 3:03 mark of the third quarter. A Baron first down at the 48 appeared to spark the hosts; however, a key sack by Bubba Jesperson on third down ended the threat and they were forced to punt. White then rushed eight times for 71 yards on the ensuing drive, including a punishing 15-yard jaunt to the five, and scored from one yard out again to increase the lead to 21-7 with 9:37 left. Matt Rupp's fumble recovery on the Baron 43 just 56 seconds later gave the Eagles a chance to put the game away. White then ran around, over and through the Baron defense on a season-long 36-yard run to the Baron seven, then promptly scored his third one-yard touchdown two plays later to make it 28-7.
On the night White rushed for 116 yards on 17 carries and three scored during the four possessions he was in. QB Case Colaw looked good passing the ball as he completed 10 of 12 passes for 103 yards. He also caught a pass for one yard from Whithorne (two of two passing for 49 yards, four receptions for 39 yards) and picked up two tackles on special teams. Dustin Slinkard led the defensive charge collecting 13 tackles, including ½ sack, and deflecting a pass. Rupp continued his strong start to the 2002 campaign by collecting four tackles, 1 ½ sacks and 1 ½ decleaters while fellow juniors Jack Meehan (10 tackles) and Ryan Nienhuis (nine tackles including four on special teams) looked solid.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Fountain Valley | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
SM – Whithorne 20 pass from Colaw (W. Johnson kick)
FV – Best 5 run (Abdelmuti kick)
SM – White 1 run (W. Johnson kick)
SM – White 1 run (W. Johnson kick)
SM – White 1 run (W. Johnson kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - White 17-116, McWhorter 12-61; FV - Baker 10-61, Feiler 7-50
Passing: SM - Colaw 9-11-0-92, Whithorne 2-2-0-48; FV - Andreason 5-12-0-48, Debowski 0-1-0-0
Receiving: SM - Johnson 1-48, McWhorter 3-38; FV - Kay 2-24, Faalafua 2-21
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
White's three TDs propel Santa Margarita
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Add closer to Ashton White's list of talents.
White did his best Troy Percival impersonation, coming off the bench to score three touchdowns in the second half to help No. 4 Santa Margarita pull away for a 28-7 victory over winless Fountain Valley in a nonleague football game on Thursday night at Huntington Beach High.
"I just wanted to get in there and help my team," White said.
Eagles coach Jim Hartigan said the plan was always to sit White, who missed a couple of practices because he was sick earlier in the week, in the first half and bring him into the game after halftime.
The Eagles took an early lead after Case Colaw connected with Bobby Whithorne on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 2:13 left in the first half.
The Barons, who went three-and-out on their first two possessions, came back with a 10-play, 74-yard scoring drive. Ryan Best plowed in from 5 yards to give Fountain Valley a 7-7 tie with 10:12 left in the half.
The Barons defense shut down the Eagles for the rest of the half.
Luckily for Santa Margarita, it had White in the bullpen.
White had minus-9 yards after his first two carries, but once he warmed up, he was unstoppable. He finished with 116 yards on 17 carries, showing the speed and power running that has made the 6-1, 215-pound senior one of the most highly recruited players in Southern California.
White carried the ball on 13 consecutive offensive plays for the Eagles during one span in the second half, resulting in three 1-yard touchdown runs.
Whithorne connected with Mark Johnson for 48 yards on a fake reverse, setting up White's first touchdown, a 1-yarder on fourth down for a 14-7 lead with 3:03 left in the third quarter.
White carried on all eight plays of a 71-yard drive, adding his second 1-yard touchdown run for a 21-7 advantage with 9:37 remaining.
Matt Rupp recovered a fumbled snap to set up a three-play, 43-yard scoring drive and another 1-yard touchdown run by White for a 28-7 lead with 7:36 left.
"We got stronger as the game went," Hartigan said.
Santa Margarita, which is ranked No. 6 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, improved to 4-0. Fountain Valley is 0-4.
By Carlos Arias
Saturday, October 4, 2002
The Orange County Register
