Eagles 7 - Foothill 6
Eagles pass latest character test
Spangenberg's late TD gives Santa Margarita a narrow victory over equally gritty Foothill.
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 6, 2006 – Santa Margarita senior running back Chris Spangenberg spent most of the night getting stuffed for short gains by Foothill's rugged defense.
But when the Eagles needed him most, Spangenberg came through with a 17-yard touchdown run with 2:33 remaining that gave Santa Margarita a 7-6 victory over the Knights on Friday in front of a homecoming crowd at Saddleback College.
"He broke one when we needed it,” Eagles coach Mike Jacot said.
It was the second nail-biting victory for Santa Margarita, which needed a last-second field goal in Week 1 to upset Long Beach Poly, 9-7. The fifth-ranked Eagles improved to 5-0 heading into next Friday's Trinity League opener against top-ranked Mater Dei at Saddleback College.
"That was a lot of character out there tonight," Jacot said. "I think that will help us. That was just like the league battles we'll be seeing."
The Eagles were locked in a good, old-fashioned defensive slugfest with the Knights, who entered the game with a three-game winning streak and nothing to lose.
Santa Margarita dominated the first half but was unable to capitalize on the good field position the defense provided.
The Eagles penetrated Foothill's 40-yard line three times in the first half, and each time the Knights came up with big plays to keep Santa Margarita out of field-goal range.
The Eagles held Foothill to two first downs and 55 yards total offense in the first half, and 36 of those yards came on Foothill's only pass completion of the half.
That 36-yard passing play from Chad Miller to Greg Carter got the Knights into field goal range, but they couldn't get off an attempt in the closing seconds of the first half because of a bad snap.
Santa Margarita and Foothill exchanged fumbles to start the third quarter.
Santa Margarita was having a hard time getting the ball to its star receiver, Ryan Maxwell, in the first half, so Jacot moved Maxwell to running back in the second half.
Maxwell, who had six carries for 64 yards in the second half, had three big runs to get the Eagles to the Foothill 8-yard line. Eagles quarterback John Michael Davis faked a handoff to Maxwell, then fumbled the ball.
It never touched the ground. Foothill senior defensive end Luke Roberts grabbed it out of the air and raced 88 yards for a touchdown. Santa Margarita's A.J. Cruz blocked the ensuing extra-point attempt, which gave the Knights a 6-0 lead with 19.5 seconds left in the third quarter.
Roberts terrorized the Eagles all night. He finished with three sacks and two fumble recoveries.
The Eagles continued to sputter on offense. They drove to the Foothill 35-yard line before Eagles quarterback Eric Reisinger was picked off by Foothill's Greg Walker:
The Eagles defense got a three-and-out, giving the offense the ball back with 6:11 remaining.
Reisinger found his rhythm and completed 4 of 5 passes for 45 yards on a 10-play, 64-yard drive. The biggest play came on fourth-and-9 when he connected with Nikolas Dialynas on a 12-yard pass for a first down to keep the Eagles' hopes alive.
On the next play, Spangenberg took a draw up the middle, cut back and scored on his 17-yard touchdown run. Reisinger converted the extra point, and the Eagles had a 7-6 lead with 2:33 left.
The Knights had plenty of time to make a run at the Eagles, but Maxwell picked off Brendan Clarke on a third-and-6 play to get the ball back for the Eagles with 1:32 left.
The Eagles ran Spangenberg, who finished with 97 yards on 22 carries, five consecutive times and picked up three first downs in the process to run out the clock.
Foothill, which dropped to 3-2, opens Sea View League play next Friday vs. Woodbridge at Tustin High.
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Foothill | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
FH – Roberts 88 fumble return (Mitten kick blocked)
SM – Spangenberg 17 run (Reisinger kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: FH - Kahn 7-37, Miller 7-25; SM - Maxwell 7-64, Spangenberg 22-97
Passing: FH - Clarke 0-6-1-0, Miller 3-5-0-40; SM - Reisinger 14-21-1-118
Receiving: FH - Clarke 2-4, Carter 1-36; SM - Dialynas 3-34, Browning 4-32
By Carlos Arias
Saturday, October 7, 2006
The Orange County Register - Varsity 1
