Eagles 26 - Bishop Amat 21
MISSION VIEJO, CA., August 29, 2014 – Junior QB KJ Costello completed a school record 27 passes (in 43 attempts) for 308 yards and two TDs. Junior RB/LB Matt Mark gained a game-high 96 yards rushing and two TDs and added nine tackles and an interception he returned 20 yards. Senior DE Rick Wade spearheaded the defensive effort with 13 tackles and 1/2 sack. In two career games vs. the Lancers Wade has registered 25 tackles and 2.5 sacks. The Eagles also ran a school-record 86 offensive plays against the Lancers (for 474 yards) breaking the previous mark of 80 against Los Alamitos in 2011.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 26 |
| Bishop Amat | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
SM – Bianchini 8 pass from Costello (Sweet kick)
SM – Arconado 24 pass from Garcia (Carillo kick)
SM – Bohuslavizki 9 pass from Costello (Sweet kick)
SM – Arconado 7 pass from Garcia (Carillo kick)
SM – Mark 2 run (Malsavage kick failed)
SM – Camargo 1 run (Carillo kick)
SM – Mark 1 run (Costello pass failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Mark 21-96, Hall 14-62; Amat - Garcia 7-32, Camargo 11-28
Passing: SM - Costello 27-48-1-308; Amat - Garcia 18-33-3-202
Receiving: SM - Sweet 6-92, Bianchini 11-89; Amat - Vaughns 7-69, Arconado 5-57
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Santa Margarita holds on to beat Bishop Amat
MISSION VIEJO – It's not often that a head coach is able to tell what his team's mental capacity is after one game.
Fortunately for new Santa Margarita coach Rick Curtis, he was afforded that very opportunity.
With his defense backed in its own territory in the waning moments of Friday night's game against Bishop Amat of La Puente, the Eagles were able to come up with crucial third- and fourth-down stops, resulting in a hard-fought 26-21 victory over the Lancers at Saddleback College in front of a capacity crowd.
"It was an exciting win and a great way to start off the season," Curtis said following the game. "The defense played great in the first half, and when we needed to make a couple plays at the end of the game, we did that."
The Eagles led throughout the first three quarters, thanks in large part to a stellar defensive showing. Santa Margarita blanked Bishop Amat in the opening 24 minutes and held the Lancers to 99 total yards.
Offensively, the Eagles were able to compile 242 yards in the opening half, but that amounted in only one score, putting the Eagles ahead 7-0 at the break.
The teams swapped touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, ultimately seeing Bishop Amat take a 21-20 lead with 7:30 left in the fourth because of a missed Eagles point-after attempt.
With the Eagles trailing for the first time in the game, KJ Costello guided the offense on a seven-play, 62-yard scoring drive with 4:49 remaining. Matt Mark scored his second touchdown of the game, plunging in from 1 yard out, putting Santa Margarita ahead, 26-21.
Costello went 4-for-4 on the drive, and ultimately broke the school record for completions in a game (27) in the process. He finished the night 27 for 43 for 308 yards. The Eagles offense ran 84 plays for a total of 476 yards.
Bishop Amat had possession of the ball two times after Santa Margarita's go-ahead touchdown. The first series resulted in quarterback Damian Garcia's third interception of the night. And its final series found it 8 yards short of the end zone and what would have been the game's decisive touchdown.
Garcia threw incomplete passes on both third- and fourth-and-2 from the 8-yard line, the Eagles holding on for victory.
"I thought they were going to run the ball there at the end," Curtis said. "They had a timeout and had been moving the ball well on the ground. But we came up with a couple big stops and were able to come away with the victory.
"Amat is a great program. We knew we weren't going to run away from them, and they fought back and gave us a great battle."
By Kenny Connolly
Saturday, August 30, 2014
The Orange County Register
