Servite 39 - Eagles 19
Friars rebound in victory
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 24, 2008 – Servite showed little patience. At times, the Friars played too rough, hit too late and showed no tolerance for driving the ball on offense.
They had lost two in a row and hadn't won since September. This was no time for standing around.
Instead, Servite relied on big plays. The Friars had six offensive plays of 27 yards or more, sacked Santa Margarita quarterback Ryan World four times in the first half and intercepted two passes — one for a touchdown — on the way to a 39-19 victory over the Eagles at Saddleback College.
"This game — we needed it," said junior quarterback Cody Fajardo, who rushed for 121 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown, and threw for 133. "It was a big rebound for us. I'm glad we got that bad taste out of our mouths."
Penalties and a Santa Margarita blocked punt helped Servite (4-3, 1-1) nearly squander a 19-0 lead, as the Eagles (2-5, 0-2) scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half. But Santa Margarita never got closer than seven points. Bijon Samoodi's 34-yard touchdown run with 1:28 remaining in the third quarter gave Servite a 33-19 cushion, and the Friars' defense sealed the victory by stopping World inches shy of a first down at the Servite 5-yard line, with about seven minutes left in the game.
Friars coach Troy Thomas said he could live with the 100 yards of penalties because his team had focused on playing aggressively during the week of practice.
"That was something we didn't feel like we did last week," in a loss to Mater Dei, Thomas said. "It's just good to get a win. … It's been a long time since we felt a victory."
| Servite | 12 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 39 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 19 |
Ser – Fajardo 2 run (Loftus kick failed)
Ser – Romero 38 interception return (Samoodi run failed)
Ser – Fajardo 83 run (Loftus kick)
SM – Escobar 8 pass from World (Maniaci kick failed)
SM – Cranston 18 pass from World (Maniaci kick failed)
Ser – Portis 27 pass from Fajardo (Loftus kick)
SM – Willet 18 pass from World (Reisinger kick)
Ser – Samoodi 34 run (Loftus kick)
Ser – Portis 9 run (Loftus kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Tyson 5–23, White 7–21; Ser - Samoodi 4–99, Fajardo 10–121
Passing: SM - World 23–39–1–296; Ser - Fajardo 4–7–0–133
Receiving: SM - Willet 7–85, Escobar 8–94; Ser - Guerrero 1–36, Ferraro 1–55
By Jonathan Kay
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Orange County Register - Varsity 1
