Bishop Gorman 14 - Eagles 0
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA., September 27, 2025 – Last Saturday night’s game with Bishop Gorman High School (BGHS) (Las Vegas, Nevada) was the biggest, in terms of popular magnitude, for Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) since the 2011 CIF State Championship game victory over Bellarmine (San Jose). The Eagles and Gaels are in the top-15 of the national ranking polls and all eyes were focused on the match-up battle between the two schools.
Both presented their trademark stout defenses that dominate the field from end-to-end. This contest was no exception as there was only one offensive touchdown scored in the entire game and the outcome was a low-scoring contest of 14-0, in favor of BGHS. The Gael’s jumped on an errant pass on the third play of the game and returned the interception for 47-yards and a score.
From that point both schools struggled to gain any real traction. BGHS was hampered by penalties in key situations that limited their effectiveness. For the Eagles, it was the inability to execute in the right instance -- 0-for-3 on fourth down attempts.
SMCHS looked as if they would get on the scoreboard late in the first half but a 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide. Following the miss, BGHS took advantage of the field position, a long pass play, and a short touchdown run to push the lead to 14-0. Neither school could muster any points the remainder of the game.
The Eagles did receive solid contributions from a supporting cast while Trent Mosley and Luke Gazzaniga nursed injuries. Grant Mosley led with five receptions for 73 yards (14.6 average). Griffin Brahm, Jake Martin and Adrian Petero each collected three catches for 129 of Trace Johnson’s 218 yards passing.
The SMCHS defense answered the call. Dash Fifita notched two sacks while Manoah Faupusa had one. The 14 points scored by BGHS was their lowest total since August 31, 2018 in a 13-7 loss at Centennial (Peoria, Arizona) on the road.
| Bishop Gorman | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
BG – Loud 39 interception return (Borsari kick)
BG – Cole 1 run (Borsari kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Smith 10-52; BG - Cole 12-30;
Passing: SM - Johnson 18-35-2-218; BG - Eugenio 12-19-0-177;
Receiving: SM - G. Mosley 5-73, Brahm 3-57; BG - Watson 7-93, Mingo 4-78;
Summary by Chuck Nan
Statistics by Shane Mielke
Santa Margarita shut out by Bishop Gorman in final Trinity League tune-up
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA., September 27, 2025 – Santa Margarita’s football team hit the field Saturday with the chance to not only measure itself against a national power from Nevada, but to again compare results with a Trinity League rival.
The Eagles earned mixed results.
Santa Margarita’s defense allowed only one score but Bishop Gorman of Nevada made more big plays on both sides of the ball en route to a 14-0 victory in a clash of nationally-ranked teams at Tesoro High.
“That’s a heavyweight fight, man,” Bishop Gorman coach Brent Browner said. “They’re going to surprise some people in the Trinity League.”
“The two defenses were laying it on the line,” the coach added. “After this, we’re both going to get better.”
Santa Margarita (3-2) entered ranked ninth in the nation by MaxPreps and third in Orange County. Bishop Gorman (5-1) is No. 7 in the nation and No. 1 in Nevada.
The Eagles held Bishop Gorman to 251 yards offense (61 rushing) but were limited to 42 yards on the ground, 0 for 3 on fourth-down conversions and committed two turnovers.
“We’re going to bounce back from this and we’ll be ready come league,” said Santa Margarita linebacker Dash Fifita, who had two sacks. “We know what we’re capable of. We don’t really pay attention to the comparisons and rankings. We play our game.”
“We’re a gritty team,” Fifita added. “We always keep pushing forward, keep God in our life and keep things positive.”
Saturday’s result led to some natural comparisons between Santa Margarita and Mater Dei (3-1).
Last week, the Monarchs — ranked No. 1 in the county — beat Bishop Gorman 27-24 in Las Vegas on a go-ahead touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Santa Margarita’s other common opponent with Mater Dei is Centennial.
The Eagles edged Centennial 33-27 in overtime on Aug. 28, two weeks before Centennial stunned Mater Dei 43-36.
Santa Margarita opens the Trinity League against Servite on Friday, Oct. 3, at Santa Ana Stadium. The Eagles then return to Santa Ana Stadium on Oct. 10 to face Mater Dei.
Bishop Gorman took the lead for good on the third play from scrimmage as junior cornerback Kamil Loud returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown.
It was a sign of things to come from the Gaels’ defense.
Bishop Gorman forced Santa Margarita to turn the ball over on downs on its next two possessions of the first quarter.
The Gaels’ defense stopped a fourth-and-2 from their 39 and fourth-and-1 from their 30.
Santa Margarita received its biggest offensive spark of the first half from tight end Griffin Brahm. With tight end Luke Gazzaniga out with an injury, the senior had a season-long 41-yard reception to move the ball to Bishop Gorman 40 in the middle of the second quarter.
The Eagles drove to the 15 but came away empty after missing a 32-yard field goal.
Bishop Gorman capitalized on the ensuing possession by driving 80 yards to take a 14-0 lead with 21 seconds left in the first half.
Sophomore running back Noah Cole scored on 1-yard TD run to cap a drive sparked by a 60-yard reception by Massiah Mingo from Maika Eugenio. Mingo ran a seam route before breaking into the open field.
In the third quarter, Bishop Gorman’s defense added a second interception to halt a Santa Margarita drive to the Gaels 33.
Santa Margarita QB Trace Johnson entered the showdown with only one interception.
Later in the third quarter, the Eagles turned to a fake punt for momentum but a long run by Ryan Clark was negated by a holding penalty.
Bishop Gorman’s defense held on fourth-and-5 from is 49 in the middle of the fourth quarter to help seal the victory and improve to 3-0 all-time against Santa Margarita.
“That’s an A win,” said Browner, whose defense received two sacks from Arizona commit Prince Williams. “I don’t think we put our our best foot forward against Mater Dei.”
Fifita, a senior committed to Arizona, led Santa Margarita’s defense with two sacks in the first half. USC committed defensive end Simote Katoanga added one sack.
The playing status of Santa Margarita wide receiver and USC commit Trent Mosley was another storyline. The senior, who has been sidelined since Aug. 28 with a reported foot injury, didn’t play for the fourth consecutive game.
Browner knew about the injuries to Mosley and Gazzaniga. He called the 6-foot-4 Gazzaniga a “focal point” of the Eagles’ offense.
Mosley’s brother Grant, a sophomore, had four of his five catches in the first half and finished with 74 yards.
The Gaels handed Santa Margarita its first shutout since a 13-0 setback against St. John Bosco last season in league. That game was scoreless entering the fourth quarter.
Senior wide receiver Kaina Watson, who saw limited action against Mater Dei, had seven catches for 106 yards to help pace Bishop Gorman’s offense.
By Dan Albano
Friday, September 27, 2025
The Orange County Register
