The Santa Margarita Eagles will take on the Orange Lutheran Lancers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Santa Margarita's defense has only allowed 14.4 points per game this season, so Orange Lutheran's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Santa Margarita is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of California's top teams: St. John Bosco, who was ranked first at the time (Santa Margarita was ranked fourth). The Eagles took a 27-14 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Braves on Friday.
Santa Margarita might have lost, but man, Trent Mosley was a machine: he rushed for 94 yards and a pair of scores on only nine carries. Mosley's longest rush was for an incredible 70 yards.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Orange Lutheran). They took their contest on Friday with ease, bagging a 63-23 win over JSerra Catholic. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 49-10.
Santa Margarita better focus on containing Ezrah Brown and Sean Morris Jr as the pair were huge in Orange Lutheran's win. Brown threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns on perfect 17-for-17 passing, while Morris Jr gained 148 total yards and two touchdowns. Another receiver making a difference was Chris Flores Jr, who picked up 114 receiving yards and one TD.
Orange Lutheran didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited JSerra Catholic to a completion percentage of just 41.4%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from seven players: Marcus Fakatou, Chauncey Washington II, Josh Paquette, Samuel Tejan, Hunter Schnakenberg, James Tuia, and Anthony McClure, who each logged one passes deflected. Orange Lutheran wasn't nearly as limited: they posted one of 85.7%.
Orange Lutheran's defense didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for five sacks. That dominant display was truly a team effort as five different players picked up one apiece. Fakatou was another major factor on D, picking up a sack, forcing one fumble, and making five total tackles.
With the victory, Orange Lutheran broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 4-4. As for Santa Margarita, their loss was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 5-3.
Santa Margarita couldn't quite finish off Orange Lutheran in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 and fell 13-10. Will the Eagles have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
