Football Preview: Santa Margarita vs. Bellarmine in State Championship

One team was expected all along to be here at season's end; the other wasn't.

So, it wasn't surprising when Bellarmine Prep of San Jose was named Sunday to represent Northern California in the California State Division I Bowl Championship game to be played Friday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson. But when the Bells' opponent was announced, well, it was a shock for many, but quite a pleasant one for Santa Margarita Catholic's football players, its coaches and fans.

After all, the young Eagles (12-2) had lost two Trinity League games during the regular season and finished runner-up in league to two-time defending CIF Southern Section Pac-5 champion Servite (10-2). One of those defeats was a 21-14 loss to Mater Dei (4-6), a team that didn't even qualify for the playoffs.

Among those teams with expectations and cases to be Southern California's representative to the Division I bowl game were Bakersfield (13-0), the Central Division champion; Vista Murrieta, which finished 14-0 on the field but whose record was marred by five forfeit defeats that the Broncos self-reported in October for using an ineligible player, and Poway (12-0-1) from the San Diego Section.

• VIEW: The Santa Margarita Championship topic page

But making the decision, likely based on the strength of the Eagles' closing argument: consecutive playoff victories over third-seeded Long Beach Poly (10-2), second-seeded Mission Viejo (10-3) and San Clemente (12-2) on its way to winning the Pac-5 Division championship with a .

"I’m happy for my men, we have the greatest coaching staff I’ve ever been around," Santa Margarita coach Harry Welch told Patch. "The students — we had 1,500 students at Santa Magarita and get 3,000 for the games. When they started chanting 'We believe,' this is an experience that transcends football to the utmost. This is about a community being involved and celebrating the moment. I am so happy and proud."

Bellarmine (12-1), which entered the 2011 season as the team to beat in the Central Coast, defeated Palo Alto, 41-13, in the section's Open Division championship game on Dec. 2.

"Like we said early on, we were shooting for the stars and we're there in a sense," senior quarterback Travis McHugh (6-3, 195) told the San Jose Mercury News upon hearing of the Bells' selection to the bowl game. "But our goal wasn't to get to state, it was to win state."

Bellarmine's players had gathered in a local bowling alley on Sunday to hear their bowl fate. "We were excited for all of about a minute, and then it got quiet," McHugh said. "We all know how high the stakes are."

In the Bells' rout of Palo Alto, McHugh carried 20 times for 205 yards, including touchdown runs of 54, 5 and 20 yards. He completed seven of 12 passes for 65 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown. McHugh, who was selected the West Catholic Athletic League's football player of the year, also kicked five PATs.

Senior running back Tim Crawley, the WCAL's co-most valuable utility player, rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown as Bellarmine scored the final 20 points of the first half to pull away. The Bells' line is anchored by senior Connor Lambert (6-0, 215), the WCAL's most valuable offensive lineman.

Bellarmine's defense, led by senior Joe Giganto (6-2, 210), the WCAL's most valuable linebacker, recorded five sacks and had two interceptions in the title game. Over the course of the season, the Bells averaged 38.6 points on offense and allowed only 11.4 on defense.

Santa Margarita's victory over San Clemente, ranked No. 7 in the state by MaxPreps heading into the game, marked the school's first championship since it won back-to-back Division V titles in 1996-97. Led by quarterback Johnny Stanton, running back Ryan Wolpin and USC-bound lineman Max Tuerk, Santa Margarita has averaged 36.1 points on offense while allowing 17.6 on defense.

Against the Tritons, Stanton carried 25 times for 147 yards and a touchdown and completed nine of 14 passes for 106 yards and another touchdown. Wolpin carried 20 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns -- his 27th and 28th of the season, tying him with Bryant Wolfsberger (1997) in the school record book for most in a season -- and junior wide receiver River Cracraft caught seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles limited San Clemente to only two second-half possessions as they went on two long, time-consuming touchdown drives to take control of the game. Matt Anderson collected 13 tackles and Mack Pierson had 1 1/2 sacks.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Santa Margarita, currently ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 10 nationally by MaxPreps, dominated San Clemente in the Pac-5 Division championship game after recording a come-from-behind 21-20 semifinal victory over Mission Viejo, the South Coast League champion. The Eagles walloped Poly, the Moore League champion, 49-16, in the quarterfinals after opening the playoffs with a 45-21 victory over Bishop Amat, the Serra League's third-place team.

Before Santa Margarita's victory Saturday, the Eagles hadn't played in a division title game since 1998, when they lost to Woodbridge, 27-24, in Division VI on a field goal as time expired. They had won titles in 1996 and 1997, the latter being the famed Deshaun Foster-Carson Palmer game in which Palmer led the Eagles to a 55-42 victory over Tustin despite Foster's six touchdowns.

Bellarmine, ranked No. 7 in the state and No. 43 nationally by MaxPreps, finished undefeated in WCAL play and rolled to 56-12, 29-0 and 41-13 playoff victories on its way to winning the Central Coast's Open Division championship.

The Bells' decisive victory over Palo Alto gave them their sixth overall section title and third in four years. Bellarmine became the first team to win the section's Open Division three times.

THE TOP PLAYERS

Santa Margarita—No. 4 Johnny Stanton, Jr., QB; No. 5 Ryan Wolpin, Jr., RB/DB; No. 6 Cory Mendoza, Jr., WR/DB; No. 7 Connor O'Brien, Jr., WR/DB; No. 8 River Cracraft, Jr., WR/DB; No. 10 Luke Stinson, Jr., WR/DB; No. 13 John McGrory, Sr., P/K; No. 24 Reid Andrew, Jr., WR/DB; No. 25 RJ Mazolewski, Jr., RB/DB; No. 27 Sean Modster, So., WR/DB; No. 35 Matt Andersen, Sr., RB/LB; No. 41 Sammy Gibbs, Jr., OL/LB; No. 42, Alex Suchesk, So., RB/LB;  No. 45 Zach Bonte, Sr., WR/LB; No. 54 Chris Frost, Sr., OL/DL; No. 62 Mack Pierson, Sr., OL/DL; No. 77 Max Tuerk, Sr., OL/DL (USC commit); No. 80 Sean Donegan, Sr., WR/DL.

Bellarmine—No. 1 Aaron Gamboa, Jr., WR/K; No. 4 Conner Jauch, Sr., RB/CB; No. 10 Travis McHugh, Sr., QB; No. 30 Tim Cawley, Sr., RB/S; No. 34 Justin Taliaferro, Sr., FB/LB; No. 45 Jake Whipple, Jr., FB/LB; No. 51 Brad Kuh, Sr., OL/DL; No. 52 Dominic Luca, Jr., OL/DL; No. 53 Connor Lambert, Sr., OL/DL; No. 57 Epie Sona, Sr., OL/DL; No. 61 Jacob Boissiere, Sr., OL/DL; No. 72 Casey Wahl, Sr., OL/DL; No. 82 Alex Manigo, Sr., TE/LB; No. 85 Joe Gigantino, Sr., TE/LB.

Battle to Watch—Both teams feature quarterbacks who are just as comfortable, if not more so, running with the ball rather than passing it. But while Stanton relies on Santa Margarita's huge offensive line to open up holes, McHugh operates Bellarmine's double-wing offense, which is simple in design but virtually unstoppable when properly executed (Remember how well Tustin ran it against El Toro in the Tillers' Southwest Division title game victory Saturday?). "We have so many ways of misdirecting with our offense," McHugh said. "So we'll just keep doing what we've been doing. We just need to play smart football."

SEASON LOGS

Santa Margarita (12-2)

Sept. 23 at Carson, 39-21 (win)

Dec. 16 vs. Bellarmine at Home Depot Center in Carson, 8 p.m. ***

* Trinity League

** Southern Section Pac-5 Division Playoffs

*** California State Division I Bowl Championship

Bellarmine (12-1)

Sept. 2 at De La Salle of Concord, 26-23 (double overtime loss)

Sept. 16 at San Leandro, 41-6 (win)

Sept. 23 vs. Piedmont Hills of San Jose, 51-9 (win)

Oct. 1 at Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco, 14-7 (win)*

Oct. 7 vs. Valley Christian of San Jose, 48-6 (win)*

Oct. 15 at Riordan of San Francisco, 56-0 (win)*

Oct. 21 vs. Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, 28-19 (win)*

Oct. 28 vs. Serra of San Mateo, 21-14 (win)*

Nov. 4 at St. Francis of Mountain View, 40-23 (win)*

Nov. 12 vs. St. Ignatius of San Francisco, 40-23 (win)*

Nov. 18 vs. Terra Nova of Pacifica, 56-12 (win)**

Nov. 25 vs. Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, 29-0 (win)**

Dec. 3 vs. Palo Alto, 41-13 (win)**

Dec. 16 vs. Santa Margarita at Home Depot Center in Carson, 8 p.m.

* West Catholic Football League

** Central Coast Section Open Division Playoffs

*** California State Division I Bowl Championship

BACK STORIES

Santa Margarita—Last season, Welch took over an Eagles team that hadn't won more than three games the previous two seasons and hadn't reached the playoffs in three seasons. That summer, Welch was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He waited for an October bye week for surgery, then led his underclassmen-dominated team to a runner-up finish in the Trinity League, the quarterfinals of the Pac-5 playoffs and a 9-3 record. Fans had reason for hope this season, but the Eagles have surpassed even their greatest of expectations.

Bellarmine—On Sept. 3, in their opening game of the season, the Bells came within a missed extra-point kick in overtime of ending De La Salle of Concord's 213-game, 20-year winning streak against San Francisco Bay Area teams. (The Spartans' last loss to another team from the Bay Area was in 1991 to Pittsburg in the CIF North Coast Section championship game.) In the second overtime, Bellarmine had to settle for a McHugh field goal, only to see the Spartans (then ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the nation by Powerade Fab 50) score the game-winning touchdown on third-and-goal from the one. Since then, Bellarmine has won 12 consecutive games.

STATE BOWL GAME HISTORIES

Santa Margarita—The Eagles have never played in a state bowl game, but Welch is the only coach to have guided two programs to state bowl victories—he won the first Division I Bowl game in 2006 while coaching Canyon of Country Canyon, and two seasons ago won the Small School Bowl with St. Margaret's—and he has the opportunity to accomplish the milestone again with a third team.

Bellarmine -- The Bells played in the state's Division I bowl game in 2009, when they lost to Oceanside, 24-19.

STATE BOWL GAMES SCHEDULE

All games will be played at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Friday

Division IV: Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth (14-0) vs. Le Grand (12-0), 4 p.m.

Division I: Santa Margarita (12-2) vs. Bellarmine Prep (12-1), 8 p.m.

Saturday

Division III: Washington of Fresno  (13-0) vs. Campolindo of Moraga (14-0), noon.

Division II: La Mesa Helix of La Mesa (12-1) vs. Del Oro of Loomis (13-1), 4 p.m.

Open Division: Westlake (14-0) vs. De La Salle of Concord (12-1), 8 p.m.

TICKETS

Tickets for the Santa Margarita-Bellarmine game are on sale through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the third floor of the Eagle Athletic Center at Santa Margarita High. Cash or check only.

General admission is $15 for adults and $10 for seniors (age 65 and older with ID), students (with valid high school ID) and childen.

Tickets are also being sold at the Home Depot Center's box office, located at 18400 Avalon Blvd in Carson, daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on the night of the game.

Tickets can also be ordered online by clicking here, though there is an additional $6.25 convenience and $1 facility charge per ticket. Please note that Santa Margarita's 8 p.m. game is bundled with Friday's 4 p.m. game online. One ticket each day is good for all games that day.

Parking is $10 and all entrances, including Avalon Boulevard and Victoria Street, will be open. Enter through gates A, B or D. No tail-gating is allowed on the premises or at adjacent Cal State Dominguez.

Admission to the stadium will be at three locations: Southwest, Northwest and Northeast gates. Santa Margarita is the home team and its sideline will be on the east side of the stadium.

MEDIA COVERAGE

If you can't watch the game in person, it will be broadcast live by Time Warner Cable and Cox Cable. No cable TV access? KBCSports.com will be providing live audio over the Internet at www.kbcsports.com.

Check back here on RanchoSantaMargarita.Patch.com, where our story will be updated live throughout the game. Finally, keep track of all the action via Twitter by following me at #born2run52.