Eagles 37 - Loyola 7
MISSION VIEJO, CA., September 2, 2016 – After dropping their season opener to the number two ranked team in Orange County, the Eagles (1-1) used a balanced offensive attack last Friday to defeat the visiting Loyola Cubs by a score of 37-7.
Senior quarterback Richard Wagner was back to form, connecting on 22 of 30 passes (73%) for 397 yards and three touchdowns. Wagner’s favorite target on the night was none other than 6’4” 215-pound Oklahoma-commit Grant Calcaterra. After a modest evening against Mission Viejo, Calcaterra showed what all the hype was about, hauling in 14 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns including a long of 83 yards.
The 2016 Eagles are making their mark on the record books, as Calcaterra’s three touchdown night tied a school record for most touchdowns in a game with some of the most renowned names in Santa Margarita Football lore. Calcaterra is now tied with John Minardi ’98 (five times), Brad Finneran ’94, Mike O’Gorman ’99 and Kyle Sweet ’15 for three touchdowns in a game. Wagner’s second favorite target in the passing game was junior Chad Magyar who had three catches of his own for 57 yards respectively.
The passing game was set up cordially by 211 total rushing yards thanks to senior running back Trey Green and Magyar. Green would go on to finish his night with 18 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown, courtesy of a 26 yard scamper on his ninth carry of the evening. Magyar had a breakthrough night for himself, finishing just shy of the century mark, tallying 99 yards on 12 carries. When all was said and done offensively, four Eagles eclipsed the century mark for total yards, with Wagner’s 402 yards (397 pass, 5 rush), Calcaterra’s 292 yards (all receiving), Magyar’s 156 yards (99 rush, 57 receiving), and Green’s 107 (all rushing) yards.
Defensively, the Eagles were led by the heart and soul of the defense, middle linebacker Caden Fitch. Fitch was the only Eagle with double digit tackles (12) and was credited with 1.5 sacks. Fitch is now leading the Eagle defense in averaging 11 tackles and 0.8 sacks per game. Three other Eagles got in on sacks as well, including Sean Toohey (1.0), David Chen (1.5), and Malik McClain (1.0). The Eagle secondary had a big night, holding Loyola quarterback Sean O’Malley to only six of 16 (38%) for 96 yards and two interceptions. One-third of O’Malley’s passes were actually made by the Eagles, with two interceptions going to seniors Brennan Gibbons and Darian Fernandez, who brought them back for 42 and 36 yards each.
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 37 |
| Loyola | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
SM – Calcaterra 82 pass from Wagner (Brady kick)
SM – Calcaterra 10 pass from Wagner (Brady kick)
SM – Calcaterra 52 pass from Wagner (Brady kick failed)
LOY – Malley 36 run (Cacho-Sousa kick)
SM – Wagner 1 run (Brady kick)
SM – Green 26 run (Brady kick)
SM – Brady 25 FG
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Green 18-104, Magyar 12-93; Loy - O’Malley 11-56, O’Reilly 14-31
Passing: SM - Wagner 21-30-0-392; Loy - O’Malley 6-15-2-98
Receiving: SM - Calcaterra 15-286, Eaton 2-21, Magyar 3-58; Loy - Mcbride 2-11, Webster 4-87
Sean Zeitler
Sports Information Director
Wagner, Santa Margarita bounce back with blowout win
MISSION VIEJO – What a difference a week makes.
The second start of the season (third career) for Richard Wagner was everything he could have hoped for.
Santa Margarita’s senior quarterback threw for 392 yards and had four total touchdowns as the fifth-ranked Eagles routed Loyola of Los Angeles, 37-7, Friday in a nonleague game at Saddleback College.
Wagner was limited to 81 passing yards in a season-opening loss to No. 2 Mission Viejo. He made amends early against the Cubs (1-1).
Wagner completed his first 11 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns, all of which went to Grant Calcaterra.
Calcaterra reeled in 11 passes for 237 yards by halftime. He blew the top off of Loyola’s defensive secondary for an 82-yard strike to open the scoring. The 6-foot-4 receiver added scores of 10 and 52 yards for the Eagles (1-1).
He finished with 286 yards on 15 receptions.
The Oklahoma commit wasn’t quite ready to attach a name to the connection that he has with his quarterback.
“If we keep rolling, I think there will be a nickname in the future,” Calcaterra joked. “I think this is my all-time best.”
Trey Green had 104 rushing yards, and Chad Magyar added 93 to lead the Eagles’ ground attack.
Facing a big deficit, Loyola quarterback Sean O’Malley scored on a 36-yard scramble to make it 20-7 Eagles going into halftime.
David Chen, Malik McClain, Sean Toohey, and Caden Fitch recorded sacks for Santa Margarita’s defense.
The Eagles lost safety Matteo Spinosi and guard Luke Bobruk to anterior cruciate ligament injuries last week, but they did not want to make excuses.
“We just had to persevere,” Wagner said. “No one is going to have a perfect season without injuries.
“Guys stepped up today and throughout this week.”
By Andrew Turner
Friday, September 2, 2016
The Orange County Register
