Orange Lutheran 28 - Eagles 14
Orange Lutheran earns victory against Santa Margarita with strong finish
MISSION VIEJO, CA., October 10, 2019 – Don’t tell Orange Lutheran’s football team that it has already qualified for the playoffs. The Lancers don’t want to hear it.
They’re playing for victories and for pride, and they showed it again Thursday in the Trinity League.
Defensive tackle Wesley Uipi and linebacker Jonah Laban made key defensive plays in the final 5 1/2 minutes and speedy running back Cooper Vander Hill broke a late 87-yard touchdown run to lead No. 8 Orange Lutheran past No. 13 Santa Margarita 28-14 at Trabuco Hills High.
“Every win, every opportunity to take home a W in the Trinity League is valuable. It is gold,” said Orange Lutheran coach JP Presley, who faced off with Santa Margarita coach Brent Vieselmeyer, his former high school teammate and coaching partner with the Lancers.
“We want to feel like we earned it (going into the playoffs). We want to feel like our work produced and we controlled our destiny, not ‘Hey, everyone is in.’ That’s just not our mentality. We’re blue-collar.”
Orange Lutheran (4-3, 1-1) showed its resolve in the fourth quarter as it protected a 14-8 lead against an equally-motivated Santa Margarita (3-4, 0-2).
The Eagles had a fourth-and-goal at the Orange Lutheran 1 but coming out of a timeout, Uipi stuffed a run for a 4-yard loss with 5:27 left in the fourth. Two plays later, Vander Hill broke an 87-yard touchdown run as the Lancers opened a 21-8 lead.
On the ensuing possession, defensive end Joseph Wiersma continued his clutch play on the first play by Santa Margarita. He stripped the ball in the backfield on a pass play and Laban scooped up the fumble for a 6-yard touchdown return with 4:19 left.
In a span of about a minute, an Orange Lutheran team that lost 51-14 to top-ranked Mater Dei last week turned a 6-point lead into a 20-point advantage.
“We had to get this win,” said Laban, who also caught a 7-yard touchdown in the first quarter from freshman quarterback Carson Conklin. “It just felt like our backs were against the wall a little and we had to get out of that corner. It just lit a fire in us.”
One of the sparks Thursday certainly came from Uipi.
“I feel like it really turned around the game,” Uipi said of his tackle. “Cooper is leading the Trinity League in rushing yards right now. He’s really helping our team out. My heart just started pumping super fast (on his TD run).”
Santa Margarita quarterback Colt Fulton responded to Laban’s fumble return by leading a long scoring drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Connor Bane with 1:38 left. Eagles kicker Jonathan Connor Teasley recovered the ensuing onside kick but surging cornerback Robert Regan sealed the victory for Orange Lutheran with an interception at his 5 with 1:16 remaining.
Regan, a junior, also had an interception against Mater Dei.
Orange Lutheran’s defense also held on a fourth-and-1 from its 19 late in the third quarter to protect its 14-8 lead from halftime.
“Our guys fought hard,” Vieselmeyer said. “We hurt ourselves on those fourth downs and turned the ball over.”
Santa Margarita defensive end Derek Wilkins recorded a sack, blocked a punt and recorded a tackle for a loss.
Orange Lutheran wide receiver Malik Blackmon turned a quick pass to the slot into a tackle-busting 64-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give the Lancers a 14-0 lead.
| Orange Lutheran | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
OLU – Laban 6 pass from Conklin (Rabbitt kick)
OLU – Blackmon 64 pass from Gonzalez (Rabbitt kick)
SM – Edwards 1 run (Fulton run)
OLU – Vander Hill 87 run (Rabbitt kick)
OLU – Laban 6 fumble recovery (Rabbitt kick)
SM – Bane 8 pass from Fulton (Fulton pass failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: OLU - Vander Hill 17-142; SM - Edwards 20-46, Barcelos 7-24
Passing: OLU - Gonzalez 5-7-1-107; SM - Fulton 23-38-1-231
Receiving: OLU - Blackmon 4-91; SM - Grogan 4-62, Buckley 5-36, Edwards 5-55
By Dan Albano
Friday, October 10, 2019
The Orange County Register
