Eagles 27 - Fountain Valley 20
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA., October 1, 2004 – The Eagles rebounded from their two-game losing streak on the strength of big plays by their seniors to post a thrilling 27-20 overtime win over the host Fountain Valley Barons before 3,000 fans at Huntington Beach High. The win evened the Eagles’record at 2-2 while the Barons lost another heartbreaker to fall to 1-4.
The game started out with both teams trading a pair of punts; however, after the Baron’s first drive of the second quarter stalled multi-talented senior Kyle Bryant returned a punt 50 yards to the Fountain Valley 16. The Eagles kept it on the ground as senior running back Omar Villamar fought and twisted his way for gains of 2, 9 and 2 yards before grinding his way for a three-yard scoring run with 7:12 left in the half to make it 7-0. The Barons responded by going on an 11-play drive that consumed over 6 ½ minutes to tie the score when quarterback Chris Debowski ran a draw in from eight yards out to even it at seven going into the break.
After forcing the Eagles to punt, the Barons went on a six-play 57 yard drive aided by a personal foul call and capped by a four-yard run by Bryan Schutte to give the hosts their first lead of the day at 14-7. Later in the quarter senior linebacker Mike Rusert forced a fumble that was recovered by Ross Cumming at the Baron 36. On second down Villamar (17 carries for 70 yards) broke off a season-long 28-yard run to set up a first and goal at the Baron 5. Two plays later he scored his second touchdown of the game, this time from four yards out, to tie the game at 14 apiece. Fountain Valley then used a mix of runs and passed to get as far as the Eagle six when the quarter ended. After talking it over they chose to try a 22-yard field goal on fourth-and-one and David Sais was successful and it put them ahead again 17-14.
The Eagles drove to the Baron 41 but were stopped on a key third-and-one
at the 8:03 mark to force a punt. The Barons appeared to be ready
to punt, but were aided by an offsides penalty which allowed them
to keep possession as time ticked away. After getting two more
first downs forced the hosts to punt and took possession on their
own 35 with 2:28 remaining. On first down Jon Daniels hit Bryant
on a post pattern and the speedy wideout outran the secondary
to make it 20-17. Unfortunately the PAT was wide left leaving
the margin at three with 2:28 remaining. Without the aid of any
timeouts Debowski guided the Barons to the Eagle 13 where Sais
hit a 30-yard field goal with 0:03 left to tie the game and send
it into overtime.
The Eagles took possession first. After an offsides penalty moved
the ball to the Baron 20 and Villamar picked up a yard on the
ground before Daniels (five of ten for 118 yards) hit senior tight
end Matt Steinbach with a 13-yard strike to make it first and
goal on the six. After Villamar took it all the way to the one
Daniels punched it in on second down for his first career touchdown
to make it 27-20. After an incomplete pass and runs of one and
six yards Rusert and senior cornerback Colin Schmit stopped a
Baron receiver in the flat just inches short of the first down
marker to preserve the victory.
The result was the first overtime win ever for the Eagles and extended their winning streak over the Barons to five games. Defensively, the Eagles were led by senior linebacker Sean Aldridge’s 17 tackles. Rusert chipped in 11 and Steinbach added 10 of his own.
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 27 |
| Fountain Valley | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
SM – Villamar 3 run (Fowle kick)
FV – Debowski 11 run (Sias kick)
FV – Schutte 4 run (Sias kick)
SM – Villamar 4 run (Fowle kick)
FV – Sias 22 FG
SM – Bryant 65 pass from Daniels (kick failed)
FV – Sias 30 FG
SM – Daniels 1 run (Fowle kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Villamar 17-71, Hoeflich 9-25; FV - Schutte 22-109, Debowski 7-70
Passing: SM - Daniels 5-10-0-118; FV - Debowski 11-16-0-116
Receiving: SM - Bryant 2-85, 2-26; FV - Munoz 8-63, Schutte 1-21
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Daniels' TD gives Santa Margarita OT victory
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Santa Margarita quarterback Jon Daniels picked the right time to score the first rushing touchdown in his high school career.
Daniels scored on a 1-yard run in overtime to lead the Eagles to a 27-20 victory over Fountain Valley on Friday night at Huntington Beach High. The victory ended a game in which the Eagles had to overcome several mistakes.
"I thought the kids played their hearts out," Eagles coach Mike Jacot said. "We've been reeling. We're a young team."
Santa Margarita (2-2) thought it had the game won when a 65-yard pass from Daniels to Kyle Bryant with 2:28 left in the fourth quarter gave the Eagles a 20-17 lead.
But Fountain Valley quarterback Chris Debowski led the Barons back down the field in the closing minutes. Debowski kept the drive going with a 14-yard pass to Freddie Estrada from the Fountain Valley 29 on third down.
The Barons (1-4) were helped out by a personal foul against the Eagles that put the ball at the Santa Margarita 13.
David Sias, who earlier kicked a 22-yard field goal, booted a 30-yarder with three seconds left in regulation.
"This one's going to sting," Fountain Valley coach John Shipp said. "The kids battled. They played really hard."
Sias' first field goal came early in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-1 at the Santa Margarita 6. Shipp defended his decision to go for the field goal, expressing confidence in his team's defense.
By Al Balderas
Saturday, October 2, 2004
The Orange County Register
