Onerous to choose a greater time to play your most full recreation of the season.
Carson Palmer, the first-year Santa Margarita Excessive coach, put it greatest as his gamers surrounded him after the clock hit zero.
“Phenomenal effort,” the previous NFL quarterback and 2002 Heisman Trophy winner from USC mentioned. “Rose Bowl bound.”
Santa Margarita (9-3) might be taking part in on the Rose Bowl within the Southern Part Division 1 remaining after an end-to-end dominating effort to take down Orange Lutheran in a 31-6 steamroll Friday at Orange Coast Faculty.
4 of Santa Margarita’s first 5 drives began in Orange Lutheran territory. It was a type of nights for the Eagles, as an offense led by senior large receiver Trent Mosley began to click on concurrently their stellar protection.
Mosley put the Eagles on prime with a four-yard landing seize within the first quarter, the USC commit accounting for 37 of the drive’s 45 yards after Jayden Crowder started the sport with a 55-yard kick return. Santa Margarita sparked its second drive with a profitable onside kick grounded by Hunter McKinney.
Linebacker Leki Holani was one of many leaders of a Santa Margarita protection that held Orange Lutheran scoreless till late.
(Benjamin Royer / For The Occasions)
“You got to be aggressive,” Palmer mentioned. “And we definitely were aggressive tonight. On the defensive side of the ball, on the offensive side of the ball, and obviously on special teams.”
Quickly the Eagles have been up 14-0 — after a 13-yard landing from sophomore operating again Jaion Smith — after which 21-0, following a five-yard rating from freshman tailback Adrian Petero.
The Lancers (3-9) tallied solely three performs of 10 or extra yards within the first half. Even when quarterback Reagan Toki confirmed consolation, driving the Lancers 77 yards from his personal 10-yard line within the third quarter, he was hit with Santa Margarita’s defensive fury.
Eagles senior linebacker Vai Manutai compelled Toki to fumble inside the Santa Margarita 20-yard line, halting the Lancers’ possibilities of scoring. On the earlier drive, Santa Margarita senior linebacker Leki Holani dragged Toki to the bottom for a 14-yard sack. On the following play, senior do-it-all linebacker Sprint Fifita picked off a Toki cross.
“We came out here, we set the tone early,” mentioned Holani, part of a defensive entrance guided by defensive coordinator Steve Fifita that tallied seven tackles for loss and two sacks.
Mosley already had positioned the Eagles up by 28 — catching a display screen cross, making a defender miss with a step-back juke and turning on the burners for a 40-yard landing. Mosley completed with 82 yards on 5 catches for 2 touchdowns.
“Job’s not done,” Mosley mentioned. “Coming and making it to the championship is a big deal for us. Excited to be here in this moment and live in the moment.”
Santa Margarita has an opportunity to win its first Southern Part title since successful the Pac-5 championship in 2011. The Eagles will match up in opposition to Corona Centennial, whom Santa Margarita defeated this season in additional time — for Palmer’s first teaching victory — with out Mosley.
Is Yr 1 sooner than Palmer was anticipating potential Southern Part glory?
“Maybe it’s quick,” he mentioned, “but, I mean, … our senior class is phenomenal.”
