It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Santa Margarita can now relate to. They fell just short of the St. John Bosco Braves by a score of 31-29 on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' national football rankings (they are ranked 52nd, while the Braves are ranked seventh).
Santa Margarita's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Trent Mosley, who picked up 64 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Santa Margarita also got a significant boost from John Gazzaniga, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 82 yards.
Santa Margarita didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Logan Hirou and Jayden Crowder. Hirou is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last eight games he's played. Santa Margarita got some further help from Dash Fifita: he picked up two sacks and made eight total tackles (4.0 for loss).
It was another big night for Maliq Allen, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns for St. John Bosco. Allen showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 66 yards. Carson Clark also made an appearance on special teams (luckily for St. John Bosco): his a 49-yard strike wound up winning them the game.
Santa Margarita's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 5-7. Their recent woes sure aren't a result of their rushing production: they averaged an imposing 135.8 rushing yards in those games compared to only 135.8 in the others. As for St. John Bosco, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 10-1.
Santa Margarita does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for St. John Bosco, their homestand will continue as they prepare to take on Orange Lutheran at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Orange Lutheran is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 26.7 points per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
