St. John Bosco - Game Notes
The Eagles (3-2) are coming off a bye after defeating Trabuco Hills 28-26 two weeks ago. The Braves defeated Crenshaw 75-35 this past Friday to improve to 5-0 on the season. Media alert: Please note that this will be Homecoming and broadcast live on television so expect a crowded parking lot and a longer gametime.
The Bosco game will mark the 6th game of the Eagles 25th Anniversary season and it will be the 17th meeting between these Catholic foes. Although it is still relatively early in the season, this game will have significant ramifications on the Pac-5 playoff picture as both teams are considered favorites for Pac-5 playoff berths. The Eagles hold a 10-6 series edge, and they entered the season finale at St. John Bosco last year with an 8-1 record and a Trinity League title on the line but fell 42-15 to the eventual league champion Braves. The Eagles have played the Braves more times in their history than any team but Servite (18).
With the 28-26 win over Trabuco Hills the Eagles won their third in a row and improved their record to 3-2 heading into league play. Kyle Sweet caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown and Randall Swain recorded 11 tackles and three sacks to spearhead the effort.
In the Harry Welch era at Santa Margarita the Eagles have gone 4-1, 5-0, 5-0 and 3-2 since 2010 in non-league play - a record of 17-3 (.850). Coach Welch is 2-1 against the Braves and he has only lost two Trinity League games at home in three seasons (2010-12).
The Eagles have racked up some impressive offensive numbers this year.
| Game | Rushing | Passing | Total | 1st Downs | Points |
| Amat | 258 | 268 | 526 | 21 | 28 |
| Gorman | 50 | 443 | 493 | 18 | 31 |
| Dorsey | 255 | 109 | 364 | 21 | 24 |
| Carson | 187 | 136 | 323 | 15 | 49 |
| Trabuco | 111 | 268 | 379 | 20 | 28 |
| Averages | 172.2 | 244.8 | 417.0 | 19.0 | 32.0 |
Junior all-everything Kyle Sweet caught seven passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, rushed four times for 13 yards, completed a pass for 25 yards, returned two punts, punted three times and recorded a tackle in the Bishop Amat game to become the first Eagle to ever have a rushing, passing, receiving, scoring, kicking, special teams and defensive stat in a game.
The following week Sweet caught 13 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns. His 294 receiving yards were the most in school history breaking John Minardi's 242 set at Fountain Valley in 1997.
In Week 5 at Trabuco Hills, Kyle caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a TD. He has a remarkable 39 receptions for 747 yards and 8 TDs in five games.
Kyle’s career totals are below
| Year | Rushing | Passing | Receiving |
| 2011 | 0-0, 0 TDs | 0/0, 0 Yds | 4-70, 0 TDs |
| 2012 | 86-278, 4 TDs | 72/118, 943 Yds, 6 TDs, 4 Ints | 11-270, 3 TDs |
| 2013 | 10-27, 0 TDs | 1/2, 25 Yds | 39-747, 8 TDs |
| Total | 96-305, 4 TDs | 73/120, 968 Yds, 6 TDs, 4 Ints | 54-1,087, 11 TDs |
The 243 yards passing by sophomore KJ Costello against Bishop Amat was the best debut ever for an Eagle starting quarterback ahead of Derek Yankoff’s 224 against St. John Bosco in 1993. The following week he passed for a school record 443 yards in the 34-31 overtime loss to Bishop Gorman.
On the season KJ has completed 74 of 128 passes (57.8%) for 1199 yards and 11 TDs against 10 int’s.
Jeremy McNichols’ 163 yards rushing at Bishop Amat in Week 1 was the best rushing debut ever for an Eagle topping Ryan Wolpin’s 136 against Diamond Ranch in 2010.
McNichols rushed for 117 yards, caught four passes for 78 yards and scored three TDs at Trabuco Hills in Week 5. Jeremy has rushed for a team high 563 yards and six TDs and caught 10 passes for 130 yards and two TDs on the season.
Joseph McGill and Grady Higgins lead the defense with 67 and 64 tackles respectively. Defensive tackle Randall Swain leads the team with 4.5 sacks while Rick Ellison leads the DBs with 33 tackles.
The St. John Bosco game is the 41st consecutive the Eagles have played against a Division I opponent dating back to the Anaheim Canyon game in Week 4 of the 2010 season. Santa Margarita has gone 95-60-1 (.612) against Division I competition dating back to a 13-12 win over Servite in 1991. This includes a 15-5 mark against Division I teams outside of the Southern Section such as San Jose Bellarmine Prep, Phoenix Brophy Prep and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman.
Eagle Head Coach Harry Welch:
Eagle Head Coach Harry Welch is 34-10 (.775) in his fourth season at Santa Margarita and he’s 18-5 at home.
With the 17-14 win over Orange Lutheran in Week 8 of the 2012 season, Eagle Head Coach Harry Welch became the 21st coach in California history with 250 career wins. His career record now stands at 255-56-2 (.818) over a 25-year career. His .818 winning percentage is the highest among active California coaches with at least 250 career wins.
Harry Welch was named the third Head Football Coach at Santa Margarita on January 21, 2010 after 18 successful years leading Canyon of Canyon Country (1982-93 and 2001-06) and then for three at San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret's (2007-09). Now in his 25th season as a Head Coach and 42nd year of high school coaching and 44th overall in coaching (including two years at Valley College).
With a win over Orange Lutheran last year Coach Welch became the second fastest in state history to reach 250 wins (in both fewest number of games: 305 and fewest seasons: 23½) behind Concord De La Salle’s Bob Ladouceur.
The St. John Bosco game is the 314th in Coach Welch’s career as a Head Coach. The 2012 Trabuco Hills game was Coach Welch’s 300th and he won 246 games in his first 300 contests. Only Bob Ladouceur of Concord De La Salle won more games by his 300th contest.
His career accomplishments include a 46-game winning streak, a 43-game winning streak, nine CIF sectional titles - including four in a row from 2006-09, a Division 1 California State Championship in 2006 with Canyon, a second California State Championship in 2008 in the Small School Division (IV) with St. Margaret's and finally a third State Championship with Santa Margarita in 2011 (Division I). He is 9-1 in CIF-SS Championship Games and 3-0 in California State Championship Games.
He won 31 games in his first three years at Santa Margarita and has 34 wins and counting in his fourth season through 44 games with Santa Margarita. Former Eagle Head Coach Jim Hartigan won 27 in his first three seasons and 36 in his first four.
Coach Welch is the only Coach in California history to win three State Championships with three different schools: Canyon Country Canyon in 2005, St. Margaret’s in 2008 and Santa Margarita in 2011.
He was named the 2009 and 2010 Orange County Coach of the Year by the Orange County Register and 2010 Coach of the Year by the Los Angeles Times. In 2007, the California Coaches Association, an organization that includes high school, college, and NFL coaches, named him Coach of the Year. At the end of the 2009 season, the Los Angeles Daily News selected him as their Football Coach of the Decade. He was named the 2011 ABC 7 Southern California NFL High School Coach of the Year.
Coach Welch and his lovely wife Cindee live nearby to Santa Margarita Catholic in the community of Coto de Caza. He has two daughters, Lisa St. John and Julie Adam, and five grandchildren, Nicholas, Nathan, Kara, Evan and Riley. When not coaching football, Coach Welch enjoys reading, travelling, fine dining at many of our local restaurants and walking his St. Bernard, Ruby.
The Harry Welch Era at Santa Margarita:
| Year | Games | Wins | Points | PPG | Rushing | YPG | Passing | YPG | Total Yds | YPG |
| 2010 | 12 | 9 | 435 | 36.3 | 2,175 | 181.3 | 2,364 | 197.0 | 4,539 | 378.3 |
| 2011 | 15 | 13 | 548 | 36.5 | 3,679 | 245.3 | 2,493 | 166.2 | 6,172 | 411.5 |
| 2012 | 12 | 9 | 385 | 32.1 | 2,447 | 203.9 | 2,049 | 170.8 | 4,496 | 374.7 |
| 2013 | 5 | 3 | 160 | 28.0 | 861 | 172.2 | 1,224 | 244.8 | 2,085 | 417.0 |
| Total | 44 | 34 | 1,528 | 34.7 | 9,162 | 208.2 | 8,130 | 179.4 | 17,292 | 393.0 |
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
