Eagles 34 - Norco 0
MISSION VIEJO, CA., September 19, 2026 – Adrian Petero rushed for 142 yards and two scores on 23 carries, and the stout Santa Margarita defense shutdown the high-flying Norco Cougar offense in a 34-0 win for the host Eagles at Saddleback College. It was Santa Margarita's third shutout this season, and they improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2012. It was also the Eagles eleventh straight victory. The Cougars fell to 4-1.
After forcing a punt on the Cougar's opening possession the Eagles went on a six-play 61-yard drive highlighted by 30 and 15-yard completions from junior QB Fletch Palmer to freshman wide receiver Kiyan Callis and capped by a nine-yard strike from Palmer to senior TE Luke Gazzaniga to make it 7-0 at the 5:18 mark. The Cougars went on their best drive of the game covering 47 yards on 12 plays, but they were stopped on fourth-and-one at the Eagle 31 for no gain by freshman edge player Kalib Herndon. The Eagles went on a 10-play drive highlighted by 21-yard completions from Palmer to junior wide receivers Grant Van Raaphorst and J.J. Minardi and finished off with a nine-yard scamper by Petero to increase the lead to 14-0 with 7:55 left in the half. The first half ended with an exchange of punts.
Junior running back Luca Amaya returned the second half kickoff 48 yards, but the drive stalled and the Eagles missed a 34-yard field goal. After holding the visitors to minus six yards on three plays, freshman linebacker Aydan Steen blocked the Cougar punt which was fielded by Jagger Apt at the 10 and returned for a touchdown. Kai Koga's PAT made it 21-0 at the 7:09 mark of the third quarter. After forcing another three-and-out Palmer completed four passes to bring the Eagles into Norco territory, but the drive stalled due to three penalties, and a potential 69-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to Van Raaphorst when the Eagles was nullified for an illegal man downfield forcing a punt before the end of the third quarter. The Cougars picked up a couple of first downs before their drive stalled and the Eagles went on a five-play 69-yard drive highlighted by runs of 26 and 21 yards by Petero and capped by Amaya's five-yard scoring run with 9:33 left in the game to make it 28-0. Santa Margarita drove to the Norco one in the middle of the fourth quarter but Palmer's pass to Callis on fourth down fell incomplete. On the next play freshman safety Jayden Jack picked off a Julian Medina pass at the 20 and returned it to the one where Petero took it to paydirt to make it 34-0 with 4:48 remaining. The Cougars strung together three first downs but a fourth down pass with 1:37 remaining sealed the Eagle win.
Norco came into the game 4-0 and averaging 54 points and 550 yards per game, but were limited to 166 total yards on 58 plays (2.9 yards per play) including minus 8 on the ground on 20 carries. Taking away the sacks the Cougar backs ran 14 times for 20 yards. In ten possessions they only managed to get as far as the Eagle's 31-yard line. Medina, a record-setting senior quarterback, who had come into the game completing 83% of his passes for 336 yards per game, completed 27 of 40 passes for only 174 yards - an average of just 6.4 per completion - and only three receptions went for more than 10 yards with the longest being 16. He also suffered four sacks. Through five games the Eagles have allowed just 27 points.
The defensive charge was led by sophomore LB Daxton Karney who registered 10 tackles and 0.5 sacks. Fellow sophomore Kingston Jimmerson collected five tackles including 1.5 sacks from his defensive end position. Freshman standouts on the defensive side of ball include linebackers Herndon and Steen who each collected 9 tackles and 0.5 sacks, and safety Jayden Jack who picked up five tackles and his first career interception. Highly regarded senior defensive lineman Isaia Vandermade collected three tackles and a fumble recovery.
Next week the Eagles have a bye, and they open Trinity League play on Friday, October 2nd when they host Mater Dei at Saddleback College.
By Adrian Peters
| Santa Margarita | 7 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 34 |
| Norco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SM – Gazzaniga 9 pass from F. Palmer (Koga kick)
SM – Petero 9 run (Koga kick)
SM – Apt 11 punt return (Koga kick)
SM – Petero 5 run (Koga kick)
SM – Petero 1 run (Kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Petero 23-142, Amaya 3-38; NOR - Troelstrup 7-20;
Passing: SM - F. Palmer 10-16-0-134; NOR - Medina 29-41-1-187;
Receiving: SM - Callis 3-53, Van Raaphorst 2-26; NOR - Ogas 10-72, Calderon 5-31;
Summary by Adrian Peters
Statistics by Shane Mielke
