Orange Lutheran 54 - Eagles 14
Lancers Rebound Emphatically
MISSION VIEJO, CA., November 1, 2013 – Orange Lutheran's football team could have easily packed it in after last week's demor
alizing loss to Servite on the last play of the game. Meanwhile, Santa Margarita was coming off a huge upset over Mater Dei heading into its matchup against the Lancers on Friday night at Saddleback College.
But this is the Trinity League, so expect the unexpected.
Orange Lutheran forced five turnovers and ran for 222 yards to knock off the Eagles, 54-14, and put itself back in the mix for a playoff berth. The Lancers also snapped a three-game losing streak to Santa Margarita.
"They've got a lot of heart, a lot of guts," Lancers coach Chuck Petersen said. "They've got a lot of faith in each other.”
Junior defensive end Keisean Lucier-South, who had two sacks and recovered a fumble, said the Lancers had a great week of practice to bounce back from the 20-19 loss to Servite.
"We never give up," he said. “Every day at practice our coaches say, 'Never give up. Never give up."
Quarterback Luke Langdon, who rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns and threw for two scores, said his team forgot about the past two weeks to focus on a big finish.
"We just got to turn the page," Langdon said. "That's our mindset going into every game. Forget about last week. We have the 24-hour rule and then come and play the next opponent. I think this team is different from all the other teams. We got something else that other teams don't."
Orange Lutheran's Aisea Tongilava scored on an 11-yard fumble return off a fumbled punt snap less than two minutes into the game. The Lancers outscored the Eagles, 26-0, in the second quarter and had a 37-7 lead at halftime after Jerry Fitschen ended the half with a 41-yard field goal.
Langdon's second touchdown pass to Adam Connette on the first play of the fourth made it 54-14.
Orange Lutheran (7-2, 2-2) gets into the playoffs if it beats Mater Dei next week.
Petersen was asked if his team is ready for the playoffs.
"No. We're ready for Mater Dei," he said. "We don't have anything at this point to look forward to other than the fact that we get to go out Senior Night at our home field and get to play a really good Mater Dei football team."
| Orange Lutheran | 14 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 54 |
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
OL – Tongilava 11 fumble return (Fitschen kick)
SM – McNiff 24 pass from Sweet (Ury kick)
OL – Reardon 33 run (Fitschen kick)
OL – Connette 12 pass from Langdon (Fitschen kick)
OL – Langdon 6 run (Fitschen kick failed)
OL – Langdon 5 run (Fitschen kick)
OL – Fitschen 32 FG
OL – Fitschen 41 FG
SM – Sweet 44 pass from Costello (Ury kick)
OL – Reardon 79 run (Fitschen kick)
OL – Connette 2 pass from Langdon (Fitschen kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: OL - Langdon 17-85, Reardon 7-137; SM - McNichols 3-21, Hume 12-55
Passing: OL - Langdon 6-11-1-49; SM - Sweet 5-14-1-43, Costello 12-22-0-149
Receiving: OL - Connette 2-14, Hannon 2-20; SM - Sweet 6-77, McNiff 2-28, Ellison 4-32
By Carlos Arias
Saturday, November 2, 2013
The Orange County Register - Varsity 6
