Santa Margarita Falls to Mater Dei, 21-14, in Trinity League Opener

Santa Margarita Catholic junior quarterback Johnny Stanton had been playing with fire for much of Thursday night's game, having already laid the ball on the Santa Ana Stadium turf three times unscathed, before his fourth fumble was scooped up by Mater Dei defensive end Robert Madrigal at the Monarchs' 30-yard line with just over 14 minutes left to play.

Santa Margarita's third turnover was the last in a frustrating night of missed opportunities, and after following it up with a three-and-out to negate the momentum of a Gian Carlo Spinosi interception on Mater Dei's ensuing possession, the Eagles ran out of answers and the Monarchs' ran away with a 21-14 home victory to open Trinity League play.

JC Genova ran in the game-winning touchdown from four yards out with four minutes remaining, and Mater Dei junior quarterback Ryan McMahon found Ricky Ortiz all alone in the end zone for the two-point conversion.

"My coaches invested a tremendous amount of time in preparation [for this game], and we felt that we could do some things defensively," Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said. "Our defense was pretty special tonight."

Coming into the contest, Santa Margarita (5-1 overall, 0-1 in league) had averaged just under 42 points and well over 400 yards of total offense a game behind a young but large and athletic offensive line.

That all ended Thursday, as Mater Dei held the Eagles to only 85 yards on the ground -- 18 in the first half -- and 194 total, forcing three turnovers, including interceptions by Treavon Coley and Peter Russo, and holding Santa Margarita to only 10 first downs, nine fewer than McMahon and the Monarchs' offense produced.

For his part, McMahon was fantastic. Despite throwing two interceptions, including a 48-yard pick-six from Santa Margarita safety Connor O'Brien that gave the Eagles their first sniff of life midway through the third at 13-7, McMahon was poised and on target for most of the evening.

Finishing with 279 yards on 21-of-30 passing, McMahon made it 7-0 on a three-yard run to cap Mater Dei's opening drive, a seven-play masterpiece that amassed four first downs while eating just 2:40 off the clock. McMahon then made it 13-0 when he found Joshua Cook over the middle for a nine-yard score two minutes into the second quarter.

"We had some boys that did those things you have to do in big games," Rollinson said. "Josh Cook. You know, McMahon was solid. Genova at the end, just getting it in there. We had a lot of outstanding efforts tonight, and, you know, we put on a show."

Although Mater Dei was able to fling it around to its towering targets, Cook (five catches, 52 yards) and Thomas Duarte (seven catches, 89 yards), with regularity, the Eagles held the Monarchs to 96 yards rushing in 32 carries, and came up with three turnovers of their own, including a Chris Frost fumble recovery that led to a one-yard scoring plunge by Ryan Wolpin, giving Santa Margarita a 14-13 advantage with three minutes left in the third quarter.

All told, the Eagles' defense racked up seven tackle-for-loss, while senior defensive tackle Mack Pierson was a man among boys, collecting three stops behind the line of scrimmage, as well as a sack and a forced fumble.

In the end though, it wouldn't be enough to overcome a sloppy night of offense for Santa Margarita, which last played Sept. 29 in a 38-27 nonleague victory over Los Alamitos.

Stanton finished with 109 passing yards (9-of-18) and 36 yards rushing in 17 carries, nine of which went for loss. He was sacked five times, three times by Ricky Ortiz, and had happy feet for most of the evening, as either tight Mater Dei coverage in the secondary or collapsing pockets around him made his night a rough one from start to finish.

"It's my responsibility as a head coach to have the team prepared and ready to play," Santa Margarita coach Harry Welch said. "We didn't play well, and it starts with Harry Welch. Instead of blaming 16-, 17-year-old kids, I didn't do my job."

The Eagles were ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Divison coaches' poll heading into Thursday night, but will have no time to worry about outside opinions with another huge Trinity League matchup looming. Santa Margarita hosts Orange Lutheran on Oct. 21 at Saddleback College.

Mater Dei (3-3, 1-0), currently ranked No. 16 in the division, heads to Bellflower to meet St. John Bosco next Friday.

GAME STATISTICS

                                   1     2     3     4   --   T

Santa Margarita         0     0     14    0        14

Mater Dei                    7     6     0     8        21


                                     SM              MD

First Downs                   10               19
Rushing Yards               85               96
Passing Yards               109             279
Total Net Yards             194             375
Turnovers                       3                 3
Penalties-Yards            7-55           4-41


SCORING

1st Quarter

MD -- Ryan McMahon 3 run; Brett Parker kick, 9:20

2nd Quarter

MD -- Joshua Cook 9 pass from McMahon; kick failed, 10:07

3rd Quarter

SM -- Connor O'Brien 48 interception return; John McGrory kick, 5:56
SM -- Ryan Wolpin 1 run; McGrory kick, 2:48

4th Quarter

MD -- JC Genova 4 run; Ricky Ortiz 2 pass from McMahon, 4:13