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RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — 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 was a heavyweight fight,” Bishop Gorman coach Brent Browner said. “They’re going to surprise some people in the Trinity League.”
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 yards 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,” 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.”
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.
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.
Fifita, a senior committed to Arizona, led Santa Margarita’s defense with two sacks in the first half.
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.
