Eagles 59 - Santiago 14
Sharks' Defense Is No Match For The Eagles, Cruise To 59-14 Victory
CORONA, CA., September 4, 2015 – For the second consecutive week, the Eagle football team hit the road as they traveled to Santiago High School to take on the Sharks in a highly anticipated matchup. When all was said and done, the Eagle faithful left Corona with a 59-14 victory as the Eagles improved their record to 2-0 on the season.
The Eagles were led by Stanford-commit KJ Costello’s efficient evening, completing 28-35 passes for 423 yards and five touchdowns. In the first two games of the season, Costello has now completed 70% of his passes for 773 yards and eight touchdowns to no interceptions. Behind a staunch offensive line, Costello has had plenty of time to pick apart secondary’s with a slew of options at receiver.
Costello’s main target is senior Dylan Crawford, who in the first two games has managed nine receptions for 235 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Grant Calcaterra is making a name for himself as a sure hand, hauling in 10 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown. Standout basketball point guard Noah Rasheed has shown that he has handles on the court and the football field, as he is averaging 117.5 yards per game on 13 catches with a long of 80 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles’ aerial assault would not be possible without the stellar rushing game in large part to junior Trey Green in the backfield. Green is averaging nearly 10 yards per carry (9.8) on 20 carries for a total of 195 yards and two touchdowns. What does not show up in the box score is his ability to step up and pass block which has proven to be a tremendous asset for Costello and company.
Anchoring a defense that has allowed a total of 28 points in two games has been the emergence of senior linebacker Tanner Matthews. Matthews now has 14 total tackles, 12 of which have been unassisted. Senior Alec Stewart has become a nightmare for opponents with his endless motor and enthusiasm on the field. Stewart has racked up three sacks already which have resulted in a total loss of 21 yards and has seven solo tackles.
On special teams, senior Sam Loy is proving his worth in the kicking game, as he has now put all 17 kickoffs into the opponent’s end zone, is 13/13 on PAT’s, and 2/4 on field goal attempts with a long of 23 yards.
| Santa Margarita | 21 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 59 |
| Santiago | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
SM – Calcaterra 61 pass from Costello (Loy kick)
SM – Crawford 16 pass from Costello (Loy kick)
SM – Trey Green 11 run (Loy kick)
SM – Green 20 pass from Costello (Loy kick)
SM – Crawford 50 pass from Costello (Loy kick)
SAN – Sandoval 4 run (Roberts kick)
SAN – Ricard 48 pass from Sandoval (Roberts kick)
SM – Crawford 80 pass from Costello (Loy kick)
SM – Trey Green 4 run (Loy kick)
SM – Loy 20 FG
SM – Chad Magyar 6 run (Loy kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SAN - Carter 7-39, Hennie 7-29; SM - Green 6-73, Magyar 7-46
Passing: SAN - Sandoval 6-15-0-109, Hennie 3-11-0-13; SM - Costello 18-23-0-423, Wagner 2-2-0-21
Receiving: SAN - Ricard 7-84, North 1-32; SM Crawford 5-168, Calcaterra 4-140, Rasheed 5-70
By Sean Zeitler
Sports Information Director
Costello, Santa Margarita dominate Santiago
CORONA – Loaded with lots of weapons, Santa Margarita proved to host Santiago of Corona on Friday night why it’s one of the top teams in Southern California.
Standout quarterback KJ Costello used those weapons to show why he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the state.
In little more than two quarters, Costello passed for 432 yards (completing 17 of 21 passes) and four touchdowns to lead third-ranked Santa Margarita to a 59-14 victory over the Sharks in a nonleague game.
Costello was precise from long distance, throwing for touchdowns of 61, 50 and 80 yards for Santa Margarita (2-0).
He connected with favorite targets Dylan Crawford (six for 176 yards), Grant Calceterra (five for 141) and Noah Rasheed (five for 81).
After Santa Margarita drove down the field on seven plays to score on its first possession of the the second half, Coach Rick Curtis gave his senior quarterback the rest of the night off.
“He looked really good tonight,” Curtis said. “We have the weapons to spread it around and he had an outstanding game.”
Santiago (0-2) was outmatched but did show a burst of moxie near the end of the first half, matching touchdowns with the Eagles to go into the half down 42-14.
Sharks quarterback Alex Sandoval led the late-half attack, running for a 4-yard score then connecting with Jacob Ricard on a 48-yard strike with :48 left in the half.
“The effort is better but it’s still not good enough,” first-year Santiago coach Scott Morrison said. “We’ll go back and work on it and play better next week.”
The first quarter was all Santa Margarita (2-0). The Eagles were very efficient, scoring 21 points on 13 plays.
Costello, who had 151 yards and two touchdowns, hit Calcaterra on a 61-yard strike on Santa Margarita’s first play.
By OC Varsity
Friday, September 4, 2015
The Orange County Register
