EAGLES 19 - MATER DEI 0
MISSION VIEJO, CA., November 9, 2002 – Ashton White scored two touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 19-0 shutout of arch-rival Mater Dei before 4,500 rain soaked fans at Trabuco Hills High School. The victory was the Eagles third convincing win in a row over the Monarchs since being shutout themselves 34-0 in 1999 and improved their season mark to 6-3, 1-3. Mater Dei fell to 7-2, 3-1 but can still win the Serra League title with a win over St. John Bosco in Week 10.
Santa Margarita started out strong as they ran 17 plays and chewed up 10:06 on their opening possession before a fumble at the Monarch 15 ended the threat. After an exchange of punts a low snap on a Monarch punt forced the punter to take a knee to field it setting up the Eagles with the ball on the Monarch 34 with 3:46 left in the half. A 32-yard run by Case Colaw was followed two plays later by a one-yard scoring plunge be White and Joe Ramsey's try was good for a 7-0 lead. A blocked punt by Mark Restelli on the 16 squirted through the mud before it was recovered in the endzone by the opportunistic junior to increase the lead to 13-0 with only 0:38 left. (Ramsey's PAT was, unfortunately, blocked). Another scoring chance was missed when Monarch QB Jason Forcier fumbled on the next offensive play and it was smothered by Josh Thornburg on the 25. Two plays later Will Johnson slipped and came up short on a 37-yard field goal try as time expired.
In the second half, the Eagles continued to play keep away as White forced a fumble on a punt return by Monarch standout Corey Bordeoux to retain possession in the middle of the third quarter and Dustin Slinkard's interception with 11:51 left in the game stopped another Mater Dei drive. White capped a 35-yard drive with a five yard scoring run with 1:36 left to close out the scoring.
Santa Margarita clearly controlled the game as they dominated the time of possession (29:02 to 18:58) and limited the Monarch's vaunted veer attack to 96 total yards and six first downs. Defensively the Eagles had an outstanding game plan as they allowed only one play longer than 10 yards until the closing moments and kept the Monarchs from crossing midfield until 0:14 left in the game. Matt Rupp enjoyed a great game earning Defensive Lineman of the Game honors for collecting six tackles but most importantly two sacks which gave him a new school career record of 19 passing Joe Winklemann's mark of 17.5 set in 1991-92. Joe Ramsey, who had two outstanding punts considering the weather, chipped in 11 tackles while Mark Johnson added eight of his own.
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
| Mater Dei | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SM – White 1 run (W. Johnson kick)
SM – Restelli 14 blocked punt return (kick failed)
SM – White 5 run (pass failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: MD - Rice 12-41; Forcier 10-26; SM - White 32-86, Colaw 13-43
Passing: MD - Forcier 0-5-1-0; SM, Colaw 3-4-0-5
Receiving: SM - Guzman 1-11, Whithorne 1-(-1)
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
White's return helps Eagles upset Monarchs
MISSION VIEJO – Open your dog-eared copy of the high school football preseason tabloid, and look among the Serra League pages.
It read: Impact Player -- Ashton White, Santa Margarita.
Playing in his first game in three weeks, White rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns but, more important, controlled the tempo of the game as Santa Margarita upset Mater Dei, 19-0, on the muddy field at Trabuco Hills High in a Serra League game Saturday night.
It was Santa Margarita's first league victory, and a game they needed to win to stay in the running for a playoff berth in CIF-Southern Section Division I.
Although Santa Margarita (6-3 overall, 1-3 in league) will not finish among the Serra League's top three positions in the final standings when the regular season ends next week, the Eagles strengthened their status as one of the top candidates for one of Division I's four at-large berths.
Mater Dei (7-2, 3-1) still has a shot at the Serra League championship.
The Monarchs play league-leading St. John Bosco at Santa Ana Stadium on Thursday.
Santa Margarita will play Bishop Amat (4-5, 1-3) on Friday at Saddleback College.
Sore ribs and knees kept White out of consecutive losses to Servite and Loyola. He had not played since Oct. 18, a loss to St. John Bosco.
White said he was too injured and ill (from a cold) to play against Servite, but felt good enough to play against Loyola. Santa Margarita's coaches vetoed that.
"It was a smart thing to hold me out," White said. "And I really wanted to come back strong for this game."
White is averaging 5 yards a carry and a just under 110 yards a game, but his 891 yards this season is about half of what he finished with last season as a junior.
"If you're going to win in this league, you've got to be able to run the ball," Santa Margarita coach Jim Hartigan said.
" We couldn't run it without Ashton the past few weeks."
Mater Dei could not run or do much else against Santa Margarita on Saturday night.
The Monarchs had only six first downs and did not cross midfield until the final minute.
Besides White's two touchdowns, the first one a 1-yard run in the second quarter and the second on a 5-yard run in the fourth, Santa Margarita got another touchdown in the second quarter, when Eagles junior Mark Restelli blocked a punt.
He picked up the football out of slop at the Monarchs 14-yard line, then ran into the end zone.
White's second quarter touchdown was set up by a Mater Dei special-teams error. Monachs punter Tim Chicoine dipped his right knee to the ground to retrieve a low snap, marking him down at Mater Dei 34.
A 32-yard run by Santa Margarita quarterback Cole Colaw was followed two plays later by White's 1-yard touchdown run.
Mater Dei had won six in a row going into Saturday's game.
The Monarchs were ranked fourth in Orange County and the Eagles seventh going into the game.
By Steve Fryer
Saturday, November 10, 2002
The Orange County Register
