5. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) 42, Bellarmine (San Jose, Calif.) 37 in 2011
Johnny Stanton, Santa Margarita
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Harry Welch is one of the more prolific coaches in California prep football history, winning 244 games and losing just 54 (with two ties) during his 38-year coaching career. Welch also has the unique distinction of winning three state championships with three different teams. He won a state crown with Canyon (Canyon Country) in 2006 and then moved to St. Margaret's and won a state title in 2008. Welch, who moved on to Santa Margarita in 2010, was going for his third state title against Bellarmine in 2011 in a game that proved to be the most exciting game in the short history of the CIF State Bowl Games.
The Eagles grabbed an early lead, but found themselves trailing 30-21 with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter of the California Division I state championship game.
Johnny Stanton rallied the Eagles with three touchdowns in the final eight minutes for a 42-37 victory.
[MaxPreps Story]First, Stanton got the Eagles within two points with a 32-yard touchdown pass to
Connor O'Brien.
Matt Andersen then set up Santa Maragrita's next score when he intercepted a
Travis McHugh pass and ran it back 17 yards to the Bellarmine 1. Stanton crashed over from there to put the Eagles up 36-30 with 6:52 remaining.
Undaunted, Bellarmine drove for the go-ahead score, a 1-yard run by
Justin Taliaferro, with 1:40 left in the contest.
Stanton marched Santa Margarita 80 yards in the final seconds, completing two passes for 49 yards and rushing for 22 more. He scored the final touchdown on a 1-yard run with 16 seconds remaining on fourth down.
Stanton completed 14 of 25 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 20 times for 69 yards and accounted for all six of the Eagles' touchdowns. McHugh was equally as impressive, rushing for 140 yards on 21 carries while completing 9 of 15 passes for 199 yards. The teams were nearly dead-even in yardage with Santa Margarita gaining 407 total yards and Bellarmine gaining 401.
