Eagles 42 - Orange Lutheran 41
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 17, 2014 – In Week 7, the Eagles tied their greatest comeback ever as they overcame a 20-point 4th quarter deficit to defeat the Orange Lutheran Lancers 42-41 at Saddleback College. QB KJ Costello ran it in on 4th and 3 from the Lancer 5 with just 18 seconds left and Kyle Sweet tacked on the extra point to take their first lead of the game. Orange Lutheran rushed for 306 yards on the night and looked to be in command of the game as the fourth quarter began with a 41-21 lead, but the Eagles forced three punts in the fourth quarter and capitalized on all three of their possessions led by KJ Costello. Costello, who set school records for attempts (47), completions (34) and yards (495) in a game, added another score earlier in the quarter to tie a school mark with six total touchdowns accounted for in a game. Kyle Sweet tied his school record with 15 receptions for 235 yards and two touchdowns while Conner Bianchini caught 10 passes for a career-high 139 yards. Defensively, the Eagles allowed 229 yards rushing and 17 first downs in the first half but only 77 yards rushing and six first downs in the second half. Senior ILB Connor Hilburn spearheaded the defensive effort with 13 tackles, fellow senior Rick Ellison collected 10 while newcomer Alec Stewart registered 10 stops with 1/2 a sack from his DE spot in his first action for the Eagles. The comeback win pulled the Eagles to 1-1 in Trinity League play and kept their league title and playoff hopes alive. As for the size of the comeback, in 2010 the Eagles fell behind 20-0 at St. John Bosco, but clawed back and won, interestingly, 42-41.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
| Orange Lutheran | 7 | 20 | 14 | 0 | 41 |
OL – Pickell 21 run (Fitschen kick)
SM – Sweet 24 pass from Costello (Sweet kick)
OL – Austin 19 run (Fitschen kick)
OL – Quinn 11 pass from Northington (Fitschen kick blocked)
SM – Rasheed 8 pass from Costello (Sweet kick)
OL – Pickell 6 run (Fitschen kick)
SM – Rasheed 46 pass from Costello (Sweet kick)
OL – Reardon 17 run (Fitschen kick)
OL – Liles 20 pass from Northington (Fitschen kick)
SM – Costello 6 run (Sweet kick)
SM – Sweet 48 pass from Costello (Sweet kick)
SM – Costello 6 run (Sweet kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: OL - Northington 11-76. PicKell 5-69; SM - Costello 19-40, Hall 12-37
Passing: OL - Northington 6-12-0-70; SM - Costello 35-48-1-495
Receiving: OL - Liles 2-27, Blandburg 1-13; SM - Bianchini 11-149, Sweet 13-224
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Costello, Santa Margarita win with wild ending
MISSION VIEJO – As many times as KJ Costello threw the ball against Orange Lutheran on Friday night, when the game was on the line, he used his legs.
Santa Margarita’s 6-foot-5 junior quarterback isn’t the fleetest of foot, but trailing by six points and facing fourth down with 18 seconds remaining, he rolled right and dove into the end zone to score from 6 yards out to tie the score at 41-41.
Kyle Sweet’s extra point a moment later put the Eagles up for good in a 42-41 Trinity League win at Saddleback College.
On the Eagles’ (5-2, 1-1) final drive, Costello rushed seven times for 22 yards and converted on two fourth downs to cap a 20-point fourth-quarter comeback, which tied a school record.
“This game was defined by heart,” Costello said. “Obviously, we’re a pass-first team and we come out with an incredible pass attack, and it makes us that much more dangerous when I can run the football.”
Costello wasn’t understating the “pass-first” aspect of the Santa Margarita offense. The junior set school records for passing yards (502), pass completions (35) and pass attempts (48) in the victory. He threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more, tying another school record, with six total scores.
Costello’s favorite targets were Sweet, Conner Bianchini and Noah Rasheed, who finished with 224, 149 and 108 receiving yards, respectively.
Things looked bleak for the Eagles, however, when Orange Lutheran (4-3, 0-2) took a 41-21 lead late in the third quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from LJ Northington to Austin Liles, to push the Lancers’ lead to 41-21. Costello even threw an interception on Santa Margarita’s next drive and the Eagles’ problems seemed to be snowballing.
But Costello ran in his first touchdown with 8:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, connected on a 48-yard score with Sweet with 5:21 left and capped his night with the leap into the end zone in the final moments. The Eagles defense, which allowed Orange Lutheran to rush for 230 yards in the first half, held the Lancers to minus-1 yard of total offense in the fourth quarter.
“We became a team tonight,” Santa Margarita coach Rick Curtis said. “We just battled. We didn’t get down on ourselves and kept telling them, ‘Just keep coming back.’”
The Eagles also excelled in crucial, sometimes overlooked plays. On the final extra point, the snap came in high, but was pulled down and held in place deftly by holder Noah Canty.
Late in the second quarter, when Orange Lutheran pulled ahead 20-7 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Northington to Markell Quinn, junior JP Hackett blocked the ensuing extra point.
“We got the block, we got the great hold – the little things are what make things happen,” Curtis said.
As the Eagles stormed the field in celebration, the Lancers were despondent, dropping their second loss in as many weeks in heartbreaking fashion.
Orange Lutheran coach Chuck Petersen was visibly frustrated after the game and kept his postgame comments brief.
“No, I can’t (comment),” Petersen said. “It was a great football game and they deserved to win.”
The loss spoiled what was a brilliant execution of the Orange Lutheran offense for three quarters. Northington operated the Lancers’ option attack to near perfection, but the offense hit a wall in the fourth quarter.
The Lancers finished with 310 yards rushing and five Orange Lutheran players had 40 yards on the ground or more, led by Northington with 76.
By Jeremy Balan
Saturday, October 18, 2014
The Orange County Register
