Servite 30 - Eagles 23
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 11, 2018 – In what was dubbed as a must-win game for both teams, the Eagles (3-5, 0-3) found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard last week against Servite (4-3, 1-2), losing to the Friars 30-23. The Eagles high powered offense was grounded as sophomore quarterback Peter Costelli was held to 16 of 36 passes (44%), for 138 yards and two interceptions. The bright spot for the offense was in fact the ground game, as the Eagles rushed by committee for 239 yards. Junior Nick Barcelos led the way for the run game, carrying the ball 12 times for 83 yards. Senior Jake Thomas was back in action for the Eagles, rushing 16 times for 67 yards. Costelli called his own number eight times for 57 yards, while senior Jake Ebach carried it four times for 32 yards and a touchdown. Leading reciever for the Eagles was that of junior Chase Nenad, who continues his impressive junior campaign by catching eight passes for 92 yards. The remainder of the scoring came via the foot of Eagles soccer standout Giacomo Boccuzzi, who finished his night 2-2 on PAT’s and 3-3 on field goals, including a 44-yard field goal.
Defensively, it was senior Blake Bianchini who had arguably his best statistical performance with 11 total tackles, 10 of which were solo, and also hauled in an interception. Junior Greg Doyle finished his night with 11 total tackles, while senior captain Matt Hartigan had eight tackles and an interception of his own.
The road through the Trinity League unfortunately does not get much as easier. For the second time in three weeks, the Eagles will face off with the top ranked team in the country, this week in St. John Bosco (8-0, 3-0). The Eagles dropped their road matchup with the Mater Dei Monarchs two weeks ago, who at the time was the best team in the country. That was until last week when they faced off with St. John Bosco and were handed their only loss on the field by the score of 41-18. The Eagles and Braves will kick off tonight at Trabuco Hills High School at 7:00pm.
St. John Bosco leads the all-time series against Santa Margarita, 12-10. Last year’s matchup between the Eagles and the Braves was an instant classic, with Bosco narrowly hanging on by the score of 40-38. The last Eagle win over the Braves was a 28-20 win back in 2011.
| Servite | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 30 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 23 |
SER – Fuller 36 FG
SER – McKibbon 5 run (Fuller kick)
SM – Morrison 1 pass from Ebach (Boccuzzi kick)
SER – Centers 30 pass from McKibbon (Fuller kick)
SM – Boccuzzi 44 FG
SM – Ebach 5 run (Boccuzzi kick)
SER – Fuentes 1 run (Fuller kick)
SM – Boccuzzi 33 FG
SER – Fuller 5 pass from McKibbon (Fuller kick failed)
SM – Boccuzzi 30 FG
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SER - Fuentes 18-116; SM - Barcelos 12-83, Thomas 16-67
Passing: SER - McKibbon 17-21-1-168; SM - Costelli 16-36-2-139
Receiving: SER - Centers 5-71, Overman 2-32; SM - Nenad 8-92, Amer 3-33
Sean Zeitler
Sports Information Director
Servite beats Santa Margarita to keep football playoff chances alive
MISSION VIEJO – Servite’s football team endured an upset loss and two lopsided defeats the last few weeks, but the Friars showed Thursday night that it takes more than that to keep them down.
Or out of the playoffs, for that matter.
Blaze McKibbin threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns and Noah Avinger and Zedakiah Centers each intercepted passes as No. 10 Servite kept its playoff hopes alive in CIF-SS Division 1 with a crucial 30-23 victory against No. 6 Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills High.
McKibbin, a senior, capped a swift six-play, 85-yard drive by tossing a 5-yard touchdown to a leaping Cade Fuller with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter to give Servite (4-3, 1-2) a 30-20 lead. The extra-point failed.
Servite’s defense then held in the frantic closing minutes. After an Avinger interception at his 5 with 1:23 left, the Eagles (3-5, 0-3) kept the pressure on by forcing a punt. A good punt return by Chase Nenad led to a 30-yard field goal by Giacomo Boccuzzi with 5.4 seconds left to trim Servite’s lead to 30-23.
Boccuzzi then recovered the onside kick up the middle of the field. Quarterback Peter Costelli launched a long pass toward the end zone on the final play, but the Friars forced an incompletion to seal the victory.
“It gives us a chance (at the playoffs),” said Servite coach Troy Thomas, whose team could land an at-large berth to the playoffs. “Rough couple of weeks … and they just keep coming to practice, keep working hard. They’ve got great attitudes, these guys. They’ve come a long way. I’m proud of them.”
Running back Derek Fuentes helped spark the winning drive by breaking a 38-yard run to the Santa Margarita 8. Two plays later, McKibbin found Fuller.
Fuentes rushed for 95 of his 111 yards in the second half. McKibbin rushed for a score and completed 21 of 26 passes, including a spectacular 30-yard TD to junior Centers in the middle of the second quarter. Centers made a slick grab on the run in the back of the end zone as Servite opened a 17-7 lead.
Centers closed the first half with a juggling interception at his 25 and made a long return on the final play.
Santa Margarita tied the score at 17 in the third quarter on a 5-yard TD run by Jake Ebach from the wildcat formation, but the Friars responded when they needed to Thursday.
A 48-yard kickoff return to midfield by Centers sparked a short scoring drive that Fuentes capped with a 1-yard TD run for a 24-17 lead with 4:15 left in the third.
Santa Margarita cut Servite’s lead to 24-20 on a 33-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter by Boccuzzi but was hurt by not being able to capitalize after intercepting McKibbin with 9:52 left.
About three minutes later, Servite began its game-winning drive behind McKibbin.
“We needed that win in our program,” Thomas said. “That’s definitely the first time we’ve all played well together. That’s exciting.”
The Friars started four sophomores on defense, including JV call-up Ben Florentine at middle linebacker. On offense, they started under-sized lineman Sam Duran, a senior who hasn’t played much, for the injured Robert Krebs.
“These kids are fighting their butts off,” Thomas added. “They’re Servite guys. They want to be great.”
Santa Margarita, meanwhile, lost its fourth game by seven points or less.
“It’s like watching a scary movie over and over again,” Eagles coach Rich Fisher said of the narrow losses. “It’s not for a lack of effort. It’s more about playing smart. … We’re a young team. We’re going to be talented. We’ll be fine. With youth comes lack of experience.”
Ebach was a bright spot for the Eagles. In addition to his scoring run from the wildcat, he tossed a short touchdown from the formation in the first half to sophomore tight end Gary Morrison.
By Dan Albano
Friday, October 11, 2018
The Orange County Register
