Eagles 34 - JSerra 31
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA., October 13, 2023 – Trailing 28-7 to Orange Lutheran late in the third quarter, Santa Margarita Catholic made a run as it posted two touchdowns. Trent Mosley scored on a two-yard run just before the end of the period and quarterback John Gazzaniga scored on a 14-yard run to cut the lead to 28-21 with 3:10 remaining. The Lancers were able to march out of their territory and run the clock out to preserve a 28-21 victory. The Eagles actually took a 7-0 lead only to see the Lancers go on a 28-0 unanswered run over the next two quarters to take control. The duel was tied 7-7 at halftime before the OLu run.
Gazzaniga led an opening possession and then found Sean Embree on a lofty a 20-yard touchdown toss to cap a 64-yard scoring drive. It was Gazzaniga’s eighth touchdown in four games with SMC. Later a bit of trickery was invoked as offensive tackle Jacob Maiava scored on a two-yard run with 0:09 seconds left in the third. Gazzaniga then romped on a 14-yard run with 2:55 left in the contest as the Eagles as the Eagles fell short. SMC ended with 338 yards total yards of offense.
Statistical Highlights
- John Gazzaniga: 15-of-31 (48.4%) passing, 227 yards and one touchdown and nine carries for 82 yards rushing (9.1 average) and one touchdown
- Jack Junker: Six receptions for 83 yards (13.8 average)
- Trent Mosley: Four receptions for 77 yards (19.3 average) and one rushing touchdown
- Noah Sulick: 14 tackles (1 for loss) and one quarterback hurry
- Trey Brown and Logan Hirou: One interception each
Note: Hirou is tied for third in the CIF-Southern Section and tied for first in Orange County in pass interceptions with five.
| Santa Margarita | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 34 |
| JSerra | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 31 |
SM – Gass 32 FG
SM – Mosley 27 pass from Gazzaniga (Gass kick)
JS – Tollefson 1 run (Daly kick)
SM – Mosley 59 run (Gass kick)
JS – Millis 21 pass from Tollefson (Daly kick)
SM – Mosley 5 run (Gass kick)
JS – Garbourel 60 run (Daly kick)
JS – Rivas 4 run (Daly kick)
SM – Mosley 74 pass from Gazzaniga (Gass kick)
SM – Gass 25 FG
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Mosley 7-87, Lendsey 8-43; JS - Garbourel 14-141
Passing: SM - Gazzaniga 15-24-1-277; JS - Tollefson 8-15-1-137
Receiving: SM - Mosley 10-230; JS - Debergh 2-35
Summary by Chuck Nan
Statistics by Shane Mielke
Football roundup: Santa Margarita beats JSerra; Orange Lutheran, Dana Hills, Los Alamitos, Yorba Linda also win in Week 8
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA., October 14, 2023 – Ryan Gass made a game-winning field goal for Santa Margarita with one second remaining to beat JSerra 34-31 Friday in a Trinity League game at JSerra High.
Trent Mosley had 10 receptions for 230 yards with two touchdowns for Santa Margarita (5-3, 1-2). The sophomore also ran for 87 yards with two touchdowns.
John Gazzaniga completed 15 of 24 passes for 277 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The Eagles had a 10-3 lead at halftime after a touchdown pass from Gazzaniga to Mosley.
JSerra (4-4, 1-2) quarterback Michael Tollefson ran for a touchdown early in the third quarter to tie the game at 10.
Mosley and Tollefson exchanged touchdown runs in the third quarter and the game was tied at 17 entering the fourth.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Mosley scored on a touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation. On the ensuing offensive play, Kamar Garbourel tied the game for JSerra with a 61-yard touchdown run.
JSerra took the lead with three minutes remaining in the game on a touchdown run by Gabriel Rivas.
Gazzaniga connected with Mosley for a game-tying touchdown on the next possession.
Noah Sulick and Levar Talley each had 12 tackles to lead the Santa Margarita defense. Sophomore Mason Reyes had an interception.
By Steve Fryer & Michael Huntley
Saturday, October 14, 2023
The Orange County Register
