Eagles 25 - Servite 20
FULLERTON, CA., November 5, 2004 – Jon Daniels completed 21 of 28 passes for 225 yards, Omar Villamar ran for two scores and Jonathan Castillo picked up a career-high 16 tackles as the Eagles rebounded from three consecutive heartbreaking losses to defeat the Servite Friars 25-20 before 3,000 at Cal State Fullerton. After giving up 20 unanswered points in the prior two losses the Eagles put up 19 of their on and the victory allowed the Eagles to improve to 4-5, 1-3 on the year and keep their post-season hopes alive. Servite fell to 2-7, 0-4.
After an exchange of punts to start the game the Friars drove to the Eagle 29, but on third-and-nine J.D. Dawson intercepted Danny Klein’s pass at the Eagle 13 and returned it to the 23. The Eagles quickly returned the favor as Daniels fumbled on a sack giving the hosts a first down on the 23. Two plays later Ray Rangel raced untouched from 21 yards out to make it 6-0 (the PAT was missed). Servite forced a three-and-out and went on a six-play 89-yard drive highlighted by 12, 27, 25 and finally 27 yard passes by Klein with the capped being a 27-yard scoring strike to Omar Ramiro increasing the lead to 13-0 with 11:24 left in the half. The Eagles responded by going 32 yards on eight plays and narrowed the lead to 13-6 set up by a 35 yard kickoff return by Dawson on a short kickoff and capped off with a one-yard plunge by Villamar at the 6:53 mark. The Friars went on a 65-yard drive and made it 20-6 on a two-yard run by Rangel with just 1:41 remaining in the quarter. Rather than run out the clock the Eagles used an effective two-minute drill to move 65 yards of their own as Daniels hit Kyle Bryant (five receptions for 71 yards) for nine and 16 yards and Rod Rivera (five for 25) for seven and 10 yards before running for 18 of his own to set up Russell Hoeflich’s five yard scamper with 0:33 left to make it 20-13 at intermission.
The Eagles picked up where they left off as they took the second half kickoff and marched 81 yards on 12 plays highlighted by three receptions by sophomore sensation Ryan Maxwell (four for 52) and a key 13-yard completion on a third-and-eight situation from Daniels to Matt Steinbach to keep the drive alive. Villamar’s second touchdown from two yards out made it 20-19; however, for the second time on the night the PAT was missed. Steinbach’s fifth interception of the year on the next Friar possession set up a 15-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Bryant at the 2:06 mark of the third quarter to make it 25-20. After forcing a Friar punt with 10:01 remaining Mike Fowle had a 32-yard field goal blocked giving Servite one more shot to take the lead. However, their drive stalled on the Eagle 25 and the Eagles ran out the final seconds.
In addition to Castillo’s record tackle haul for a cornerback junior defensive end Ross Cumming earned Player of the Game honors for his nine tackle, one sack effort. Bryan Redsun and Colby Rodgers chipped in eight apiece.
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 25 |
| Servite | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
SER – Rangel 21 run (McCullough kick failed)
SER – Ramiro 27 pass from Klein (McCullough kick)
SM – Villamar 1 run (kick failed)
SER – Rangel 2 run (McCullough kick)
SM – R. Hoeflich 5 run (kick good)
SM – Villamar 2 run (kick failed)
SM – Bryant 15 pass from Daniels (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SER - Rangel 13-50
Passing: SER - Klein 24-36-2-259; SM - Daniels 21-28-0-225
Receiving: SER - Reinert 11-128, Ramiro 4-46; SM - Maxwell 4-52, Gordon 2-28
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
