Loyola 25 - Eagles 18
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 14, 2005 – Quarterback Henry Burge threw three touchdown passes including a 23-yarder to Brian Clark with 59 seconds left to lift the visiting Loyola Cubs to a dramatic 25-18 win over the Eagles before 4,000 fans at Saddleback College. The loss was the Eagles second in a row and marked the third time in four games where they held a lead in the fourth quarter only to see the opposition pull out the win in the final moments. The win improved the Cubs to 5-1 and 1-0 in Serra League play while the Eagles fell to 3-3, 0-1.
The Cubs jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Burge hit Taylor Joseph from two yards out to cap an 80-yard drive on their opening possession. With 5:53 left in the half Joe Macmillan kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 10-0. The Eagles promptly responded as they went 85 yards on only six plays to score as Jon Daniels hit Ryan Maxwell for 40 yards and five plays later found him on the same fly pattern again from 34 yards out to close the score to 10-6 with 3:28 left in the half. The Eagles got the ball back with 2:00 left and crossed into Cub territory after an 18-yard run by Daniels; however, penalties and solid pass defense by the Cubs foiled the Eagles drive.
On the Eagles opening drive of the second half they once again managed to march into Cub territory only to have the drive stymied by penalties. Thomas Hull’s punt pinned the Cubs back at their two where on first down Ross Cumming tacked running back Chad Peppars in the backfield for a safety to close the gap to 10-8. After an exchange of punts the Eagles took an 11-10 lead with 0:31 left in the third quarter when Eric Reisinger kicked a 27-yard field goal to cap an eight-play drive. Burge responded by leading Loyola on an 80-yard drive as he found Marcus Lawrence from 12 yards out for an 18-11 advantage with 8:40 remaining in the game. Daniels who set a school record with 26 completions and set career highs with 39 attempts and 306 yards found Jacob Gordon for 11 then Maxwell (seven receptions for 153 yards) for 38 before scrambling 21 yards on his own to set up a first and goal on the eight. On fourth down from the six Daniels found an extended Gordon in the back of the endzone where the senior WR snagged the ball and managed to tap one foot down to tie the game at 18 with only 5:51 to go. Loyola then went on a ten-play drive mixing in runs by Peppars and passes by Burge to set up the winning score.
Defensively Kyle Aldridge spearheaded the defensive effort with 10 tackles while JD Dawson had nine of his own and another forced fumble. (He forced a school-record three at Loyola last year). Sophomore defensibe lineman sensation Logan Harrell recorded his team leading seventh sack – one shy of the school record for sophomores held by Matt Rupp (2001).
| Loyola | 7 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 25 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 18 |
LOY – Joseph 2 pass from Burge (MacMillan kick)
LOY – FG MacMillan 37
SM – Maxwell 34 pass from Daniels (kick tailed)
SM – Safety, Peppers tackled by Cumming and Dawson in end zone
SM – FG Reisinger 22
LOY – Lawrence 13 pass from Burge (Lawrence pass from Burge)
SM – Gordon 6 pass from Daniels (Reisinger kick)
LOY – Clark 23 pass from Burge (MacMillan kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: Loy - Peppars 24-152, Lawrence 2-22; SM - Daniets 9-48, Angelo 7-12
Passing: Loy - Burge 15-20-0-181; SM - Daniels 26-39-1-306
Receiving: Loy - Joseph 4-45, Clark 4-34; SM - Maxwell 7-153, Hull 4-51
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Loyola drive decisive
The visiting Cubs move 81 yards in 10 plays to defeat Santa Margarita, 25-18.
MISSION VIEJO – Santa Margarita was the victim of a fourth-quarter rally for the third time in the past four weeks, losing to Loyola of Los Angeles, 25-18, in the Serra League opener for both teams Friday night at Saddleback College.
Loyola senior quarterback Henry Burge engineered the 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive that gave the Cubs a 25-18 lead with less than a minute to go.
Burge was 4 of 4 for 45 yards on the drive. He rolled right and lofted a pass through the hands of an Eagles defender and into the hands of Brian Clark for a 23-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left.
“I thought it was short and it was a pick when I first saw it,” first-year Cubs coach Jeff Kearin said. "Henry Burge has done a great job touching passes over guys this year. He did it again."
The Eagles had 51 seconds left when they took over at their 13. Santa Margarita quarterback Jon Daniels, who completed a school-record 26 passes for a career-high 305 yards, was able to pick up two first downs.
But the Eagles rally came to an end when Adam Stout picked off a Daniels pass with three seconds left.
"I think this was huge," Kearin said. “These games (in the Serra League) are so competitive. It's hard to play catch up if you lose that first one."
Santa Margarita (3-3, 0-1) has lost three of its past four games by a combined 11 points. The Cubs (5-1, 1-0) were coming off a 34-27 loss to Hart of Newhall.
"We had to battle the past couple of weeks," Kearin said. "Playing a nail-biter with Hart last week really prepared us. Our kids showed a lot of poise playing under pressure."
For the second consecutive week Santa Margarita had trouble against the run. Loyola running back Chad Peppars 97 yards by halftime.
Burge tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Joseph in the first quarter and Joe MacMillan connected on a 37-yard field goal with 5:43 left in the first half to give the Cubs a 10-0 lead.
The Eagles struggled on offense for much of the first half, but Daniels finally hooked up with his best receiver, Ryan Maxwell, for a 40-yard pass play into Cubs territory. Five plays later, Daniels lofted a pretty pass, and Maxwell was able to make a basket catch for a 34-yard touchdown. The Eagles missed the extra-point attempt but cut the lead to four points.
The Eagles held the Cubs to 8 yards of total offense in the third quarter, recorded a safety and kicked a field goal to take an 11-10 lead.
The Cubs put together an 8-play, 80-yard drive to reclaim the lead, 18-11.
The Eagles came back and tied it, 18-18, when Daniels hit Jacob Gordon, who managed to keep his feet inbounds on a 6-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 5:51 remaining.
By Carlos Arias
Saturday, October 15, 2005
The Orange County Register - Varsity 3
