Eagles 14 - St. Paul 3
SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA., September 10, 2004 – The Eagles used a balanced attack on offense and a solid defensive outing to post a 14-3 win over the St. Paul Swordsmen (1-1) before a crowd of 4,000 at “The Pit”. The Swordsmen who were coming off an impressive 48-20 win over Long Beach Jordan in Zero the prior week could not get untracked against the quicker Eagle defensive unit. Things started off well for the hosts. On the Swordsmen’s first offensive series they used a 22-yard run by Dwight Tardy and a 30-yard scamper from Diego Meza to move into Eagle territory. After a completion and facemask penalty gave St. Paul a first and goal at the 14 the Eagle defense clamped down and forced a 31-yard field goal from Randall Reynoso at the 8:10 mark. From that point forward Santa Margarita’s defense completely shut down the Swordsmen allowing only four first downs and 69 total yards the rest of the game. After forcing a short punt on St. Paul’s third possession the Eagles needed only 1:27 to march 39 yards to take the lead for good. A nine-yard completion from Jon Daniels (10 of 18 for 127 yards) to Jacob Gordon (three receptions for 29 yards) resulted in a first down and consecutive runs of eight and ten yards by Omar Villamar (13 carries for 41 yards) set up a first and goal on the one. A fumble on the ensuing play on the exchange between Gordon and Russell Hoeflich saw the ball roll into the endzone where an alert Matt Steinbach fell on it for a TD with 1:28 left in the quarter; however, the PAT was missed and the score was 6-3. The Eagles couldn’t capitalize on a thirteen-play drive in the second quarter when a fourth down run by Hoeflich (11-33) was stopped inches short of the sticks at the St. Paul 15 with 5:33 remaining before intermission.
In the third quarter, Ross Cumming’s batted pass and Bryan Redsun’s sack stopped the Swordsmen’s initial drive of the second half. On their next series a 36-yard interception return by linebacker Mike Rusert gave the Eagles a first down on the St. Paul seven where Jon Angelo (8-40) ran in untouched for the score one play later. Daniels hit Steinbach with a pass in the flat for the two-point conversion to close out the scoring with 5:30 left in the third quarter. In the final quarter the Eagles salted away the victory by playing ball control and used 7:14 to march down to the St. Paul 10 before the drive stalled and a missed field goal resulted.
The Eagles controlled the clock for over 29 minutes and limited St. Paul to only 136 total yards. Sean Aldridge spearheaded the Eagle defensive unit with nine tackles and ½ sacks while seniors Kyle Bryant and Rusert added eight each. Redsun was named both the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Game for his efforts which included three receptions for a team-high 40 yards while adding four tackles and 1 ½ sacks.
| Santa Margarita | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 14 |
| St. Paul | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
STP – Reynoso 31 FG
SM – Steinbach recovered fumble in end zone (kick failed)
SM – Angelo 6 run (Steinbach pass from Daniels)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Angelo 8-40, Villamar 12-38, Hoeflich 10-38; STP - Meza 11-66, Tardy 8-52
Passing: SM - Daniels 10-18-1-127; STP - Aguilera 3-12-1-16, Gonzalez 2-2-0-8
Receiving: SM - Redsun 3-40, Rivera 1-29; STP - Reynoso 2-12, Meza 1-9
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Eagles rally at St. Paul
SANTA FE SPRINGS – It was going to take more than a quick start to beat the Santa Margarita football team. St. Paul didn't have it.
The Eagles overcame an early bout of shellshock to beat the Swordsmen, 14-3, Friday night at St. Paul.
St. Paul (1-1) began the game with two consecutive rushing plays that netted 52 yards. But when the Swords men had to settle for a field goal, the momentum shifted to Santa Margarita.
The Eagles (1-0) held the Swordsmen to 66 rushing yards and four first downs the rest of the way, giving junior quarterback Jon Daniels a chance to relax and start running the offense.
Daniels looked more confident as the game went on but relied on some lucky bounces when things didn't go his way. An errant pitch directed at Russell Hoeflich at the 1-yard line found its way into the end zone, where Matt Steinbach covered it for the Eagles' first touchdown.
Jon Angelo added a third-quarter touchdown, a 6-yard run that was set up when Michael Rusert intercepted a pass and returned it 51 yards.
Daniels completed 10 of 18 passes for 127 yards in his first start at the varsity level.
By Al Balderas
Saturday, September 11, 2004
The Orange County Register - S3
