Eagles 59 - Downey 21
MISSION VIEJO, CA., August 16, 2018 – The energy and excitement was palpable at Trabuco Hills High School for the week zero matchup between the visiting Downey Vikings and the counties number five ranked Santa Margarita Eagles. The excitement was obvious, as the Eagles would score on their opening play of the game and their first play from scrimmage of the second half. With the departure of quarterback Josiah Norwood who is now at UCLA, all eyes turned to the sophomore transfer who would take his first ever varsity snap. Eyes popped and jaws dropped as Costelli carried himself with a veteran-like demeanor, connecting on 23 of 29 passes (79.3%) for 325 yards and six touchdowns as he connected with eight different receivers. His 325 yards set a school record for most passing yards in a first career game, previously held by KJ Costello (Stanford) and Josiah Norwood (UCLA), 243 yards. Not to be overlooked, Costelli’s six touchdown passes also broke a school record, previously held by a guy named Carson Palmer who threw for five touchdowns on two different occasions. The leading receiver for the Eagles on the night was Kareem Amer, who would haul in five receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown.
Behind a now veteran offensive line, senior Jake Thomas was able to rush 10 times for 120 yards (12.0 average) with two touchdowns and also had a pass reception of 16 yards which ended in the end zone.
For just the ninth time in the school’s history, the Eagles had a 250+ yard passer, 100+ yard rusher, and a 100+ yard receiver in Costelli (325), Amer (115) and Thomas (120).
Defensively, the Eagles were led by the senior Blake Bianchini who seemed to be everywhere on the field, resulting in leading the teams in tackles with 13 (9 solo, 4 assisted). Senior linebacker Connor Burke had 11 tackles of his own (4 solo, 7 assisted) as well blocked punt recovery on the first drive of the game. Junior Greg Doyle had two sacks and Logan Schwenke had one of his own.
| Santa Margarita | 14 | 10 | 21 | 14 | 59 |
| Downey | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
SM – Ebach 19 pass from Costelli (Brady kick)
SM – Thomas 16 pass from Costelli (Brady kick)
SM – Thomas 1 run (Brady kick)
SM – Amer 50 pass from Costelli (Brady kick)
DOW – Ruiz 81 pass from Foots (Medina kick)
SM – Thomas 73 run (Brady kick)
DOW – Perry 1 run (Medina kick)
DOW – Allen 2 run (Medina kick)
SM – Ebach 17 pass from Costelli (Brady kick)
SM – Nenad 8 pass from Costelli (Brady kick)
SM – O'Rourke 19 pass from Costelli (Brady kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: DOW - Perry 22-114, Foots 14-96; SM - Thomas 10-120, Barcelos 6-24
Passing: DOW - Foots 14-25-0-235; SM - Costelli 23-39-0-325
Receiving: DOW - Ruiz 5-102, Hodge 6-101; SM - Amer 5-115, Nenad 8-78
Sean Zeitler
Sports Information Director
Costelli has TD touch as Santa Margarita crushes Downey
MISSION VIEJO – Santa Margarita quarterback Peter Costelli was outstanding in his varsity debut Thursday. The sophomore completed 23 of 29 passes for 324 yards and six touchdowns in the Eagles’ 59-21 win over Downey at Trabuco Hills High.
The St. John Bosco transfer completed passes to eight difference receivers and five of those receivers scored.
“I’ve said from day one that he is the real deal,” Santa Margarita coach Rich Fisher said of Costelli. “You can see what he is all about. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
“The team is great. They make me feel comfortable here,” Costelli said.
Costelli found Jake Ebach in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage. On the ensuing possession, Costelli threw a swing pass to Jake Thomas, who ran for a 16-yard touchdown to give Santa Margarita a 14-0 lead.
Santa Margarita (1-0), ranked No. 5 in the Register’s Orange County top 10, led 24-0 at halftime and extended its lead to 31 points when Costelli threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Amer on the first play of the third quarter.
After a Downey touchdown, Thomas ran for a 74-yard touchdown to push the Eagles’ lead back to 31 points.
“He got voted team captain and I expect big things from him,” Fisher said of Thomas. “It was nice for him to reel up a big run.”
Downey (0-1) cut Santa Margarita’s lead to 17 by scoring two consecutive touchdowns.
Quarterback Kijjon Foots threw for 216 yards and ran for 113 to keep Downey in the game.
“That is a physical football team and that quarterback is the real deal,” Fisher said. “To be honest, I didn’t know what we had. We lost a lot from last year and it was cool to see these guys respond and play well.”
Chase Nenad led the Eagles in receiving with 90 yards on nine catches with a touchdown. Kyle O’Rourke caught a a 20-yard touchdown on his only reception of the game.
Santa Margarita will play No. 3 Mission Viejo on Friday, Aug. 24. The Eagles lost to Mission Viejo 28-23 last season.
“A lot of our mistakes were concentration,” Fisher said. “… Some of it was jitters. You achieve what you emphasize, so we will emphasize that this week and hopefully get it cleaned up.”
By Michael Huntley
Friday, August 16, 2018
The Orange County Register
