Eagles 61 - Alemany 7
Santa Margarita used a strong defensive effort and more than 350-rushing yards to steamroll the Warriors of Alemany, 61-7
LAGUNA HILLS, CA., September 7, 2017 – There were a lot of firsts for the Eagle football program last Thursday. The first home game of the season was held at Laguna Hills High School, for the first time in school history. For first time in the school’s 30-year existence, the home jerseys were not blue, gold or white, they were anthracite grey. For the first time, an Eagle kicker surpassed the 50-yard barrier, courtesy of Dylan Brady’s 55-yard field goal to close out the first half to take down a 10-year old school record of 49-yards. The Eagles (3-0, 0-0) handed Alemany (1-2, 0-0) a 61-7 loss and seem to be clicking on all cylinders in all three facets of the game as they are now outscoring opponents 152-7 with a defense that gave up their first touchdown of the season in game three.
Straight out of the gates, the Eagles put up a quick 17 points in the first quarter before putting up an unprecedented 31-second quarter points to take a 48-7 first-half lead into the locker room. Senior quarterback Josiah Norwood connected on 9/13 passes (69%) for 113 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was on a perfectly placed pass in the corner of the end zone to junior Jake Ebach, the other to running back Chad Magyar who claimed his second receiving touchdown of the season. The Eagles did not need to take to the air much in this game, as they racked up more than 350-rushing yards.
For the third consecutive game, Magyar broke the 100-yard rushing mark with a season high 156-yards on 12 carries and two rushing touchdowns. Not to be outdone, the offensive spotlight on this night went to the potential heir apparent in junior Jake Thomas. Thomas had a breakthrough performance that will keep opponents on their toes going forward, rushing eight times for 124 yards and two touchdowns with a long of 66-yards.
On special teams, the night belonged to senior kicker Dylan Brady. Brady broke a 10-year old field goal school record after banging a 55-yard field goal off the crossbar to close out the first half. The previous record of 49-yards was set by Rob Maniaci against Foothill High School in 2007. Brady was a perfect 11 for 11 on kickoff touchbacks and was 7 for 8 on PAT’s and field goals for 13-points. Malone Mataele had two punt returns for 51-yards with a long of 45, and had one kickoff return for 53-yards.
Defensively, the Eagles only gave up 202 total yards, 125 through the air and 77 on the ground. Senior Quentin Buchman led all Eagle tacklers with seven total, senior Alex Kilander added a sack alongside sophomore Logan Schwenke getting his first career varsity sack. Junior Corey Hernandez stole his first varsity interception which he returned for 35 yards, with Kilander and Richie Caragao getting fumble recoveries.
| Santa Margarita | 17 | 31 | 7 | 6 | 61 |
| Alemany | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
SM – Ebach 16 pass from Norwood (Brady kick)
SM – Magyar 2 run (Brady kick)
SM – Brady 47 FG
SM – Thomas 3 run (Brady kick)
ALE – Camacho 5 run (Vives kick)
SM – Magyar 15 pass from Norwood (Brady kick)
SM – Norwood 55 run (Brady kick)
SM – Mataele 11 run (Brady kick)
SM – Brady 55 FG
SM – Magyar 43 run (Brady kick)
SM – Thomas 42 run (Brady kick miss)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Magyar 12-156, Thomas 8-124; ALE - Camacho 6-46
Passing: SM - Norwood 9-13-0-113; ALE - Mitchell 13-29-1-125
Receiving: SM - Eaton 3-18, Magyar 3-31; ALE - Perez 7-68
Sean Zeitler
Sports Information Director
Well-rounded Santa Margarita cruises past Alemany
LAGUNA HILLS – If anyone wondered why Santa Margarita’s fourth-ranked football team has started the season so fast, the Eagles provided the answers against Alemany.
In a rare Thursday night game at its new “home” venue, Santa Margarita used a quick-strike, no-huddle offense, an aggressive defense and impressive special teams to sprint past the Warriors, 61-7, at Laguna Hills High.
“We not really worried about the scoreboard as much as we’re worried about us taking care of our business, doing the best we possibly can and teaching these guys what it takes to prepare,” said Santa Margarita coach Rich Fisher, whose team improved to 3-0. “(The players) have done a heck of a job. … But there’s still a lot to clean up.”
Santa Margarita scored 17 points in the first quarter and then exploded with 31 in the second against Alemany (1-2). Dylan Brady capped the first half by kicking a 55-yard field goal on the final play, bouncing the ball off the cross-bar for a school record.
Brady also kicked a 47-yard field goal in the first quarter and launched several touchbacks.
The Eagles scored on their second play from scrimmage. Quarterback Josiah Norwood rolled to his right and tossed a 16-yard touchdown to Jake Ebach.
Santa Margarita ran five consecutive times on its next possession to reach the end zone. Chad Magyar scored on his first of three TDs with a 2-yard run.
Magyar also scored on a 15-yard TD reception on a screen pass from Norwood in the second quarter and broke a 42-yard TD run early in the third quarter when the Eagles inserted power blockers Caden Fitch, Jake Peters and John McCartan.
The Eagles’ defense forced three turnovers, leading to 19 points. McCartan anchor the unit with a forced fumble on a sack. Joseph Canty also broke up three passes with Alex Kilander and Logan Schwenke added sacks.
Santa Margarita opened the season with shutout victories against Downey, 56-0, and Loyola of Los Angeles, 35-0.
Alemany lost last week against Santa Margarita rival JSerra, 48-27, and was expected to provide the Eagles a stiffer challenge.
Santa Margarita also plays at Laguna Hills next week when it plays host to Mayfair. The Eagles usually play home games at Saddleback College but the Gauchos’ field is being renovated.
By Dan Albano
Saturday, September 8, 2017
The Orange County Register
