EAGLES 59 - INGLEWOOD 26
MISSION VIEJO, CA., November 8, 2024 – The Sentinels came into the contest ranked No. 87 in the nation by MaxPreps.com. QB John Gazzaniga was 18/25 passing for 343 yards and 3 TDs. WR Jack Junker caught 5 passes for 172 yards and 1 TD. WR Trent Mosley caught 4 passes for 85 yards and 2 TDs. He also rushed 2 times for 20 yards and 2 TDs. TE Fisher Melton caught 5 passes for 50 yards. RB Jaion Smith rushed 10 times for 45 yards and 1 TD. Defensively DB Logan Hirou led the defense with 8 tackles (4 solo, 4 asst.). LB Leki Holani had 6 tackles (3 solo, 3 asst.), 3 TFL and 1.5 Sacks. LB Ivrick Carrigan contributed 4 tackles (2 solo, 2 asst.) and 1.5 sacks.
| Santa Margarita | 9 | 29 | 7 | 14 | 59 |
| Inglewood | 7 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 26 |
SM – L. Holani Safety
SM – Junker 40 pass from J. Gazzaniga (Gass kick)
ING – Nickerson 7 pass from Tisdell (Gutierrez kick)
SM – Junker 72 pass from J. Gazzaniga (Gass kick)
SM – T. Mosley 2 run (Gass kick)
SM – T. Mosley 18 run (Gass kick)
SM – Junker 45 pass from J. Gazzaniga (Hanne pass from Fifita)
ING – Kuylen 43 pass from McCauley (Gutierrez kick)
SM – J. Gazzaniga 7 run (Gass kick)
SM – Smith 2 run (Gass kick)
ING – Gilbert 47 pass from Tisdell (Run failed)
SM – L. Gazzaniga 29 pass from Johnson (Gass kick)
ING – Tillman 85 kickoff return (Pass failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Ja. Smith 10-45, Johnson 3-22; ING - Santino 17-48, Tillman 4-42
Passing: SM - J. Gazzaniga 18-25-0-343, Johnson 4-4-0-34; ING - Tisdell 13-20-0-249, McCauley 3-7-0-65
Receiving: SM - Junker 5-172, T. Mosley 4-85, Melton 5-50; ING - Gilbert 5-141, Kuylen 2-68, Jennett 4-58
Compiled by Chuck Nan
Statistics by Shane Mielke
Santa Margarita football races past Inglewood to begin CIF-SS playoffs with lopsided win
MISSION VIEJO, CA., November 8, 2024 – Santa Margarita’s offense finally got into gear the last two weeks of the regular season.
It went into overdrive Friday.
Santa Margarita roared past previously-undefeated Inglewood 59-26 in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 first-round playoff game at Trabuco Hills High.
The Eagles (5-6) will play at St. John Bosco (9-1) next week in the quarterfinals.
Inglewood finished the regular season 10-0. The Sentinels were the No. 10-seeded team in the 10-team Division 1 bracket. Santa Margarita was seeded No. 7.
The Eagles had lost to St. John Bosco 13-0 and Orange Lutheran 13-10 in back-to-back Trinity League games. The offense got going in a 35-33 league loss to JSerra before the Eagles ended the regular season with a 44-8 league win over Servite.
Senior quarterback John Gazzaniga completed 17 of 24 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns, all to sophomore receiver John Junker in the first half.
Junker at halftime had 157 receiving yards, all on the three touchdown catches, and added two receptions for 15 yards in the second half to finish with a career-high of 172 yards on five receptions.
Gazzaniga also scored on a 7-yard run. He completed 10 passes in a row in the first half.
Santa Margarita has all of its offensive weapons intact now with the return of junior receiver Trent Mosley. The junior on Friday had four receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown and scored on a 2-yard run.
Asked what it was like to have Mosley back, Gazzaniga said, “It’s like night and day.”
The Eagles had a 38-14 lead at halftime and took a 52-19 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Inglewood senior quarterback Kingston Tisdell threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Tisdell was under duress much of the game, and was sacked four times including once for a safety.
Sentinels junior Austyn Tisdell scored on a 75-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.
Santa Margarita junior linebacker Alex Leki Holani tackled Tisdell in the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 lead. On the next play from scrimmage Gazzaniga passed to Junker for a 40-yard touchdown.
Inglewood cut its deficit to 9-7 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Kingston Tisdell to Andre Nickerson.
Then Santa Margarita took over.
On a 72-yard touchdown pass from Gazzaniga to Junker, the defensive back nearest to Junker fell down, leaving Junker wide open. The Eagles then scored on Mosley’s 2-yard run, an 18-yard pass from running back Elijah Robinson to Mosley and a 45-yard pass from Gazzaniga to Junker, which put the Eagles ahead 38-7.
Inglewood’s Iseri Kuylen caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Wyatt McCauley to complete the first-half scoring.
In the third quarter Gazzaniga scored on a 7-yard run and Jaion Smith scored on a 2-yard run to push the Santa Margarita lead to 52-14.
The Sentinels’ Ray Gilbert caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from Kingston Tisdell.
Santa Margarita’s James Johnson threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Luke Gazzaniga, and Austyn Tisdell’s 75-yard kickoff return completed the scoring.
By Steve Fryer
Friday, November 8, 2024
The Orange County Register
