Santa Margarita’s Defense Dominates Pasadena

A strong all-round performance by quarterback Trevor Yankoff and a swarming defense boosted unbeaten Santa Margarita High School to a 17-7 nonleague victory over Pasadena Friday night at Saddleback College.

Yankoff completed 13 of 17 passes for 145 yards and ran for a touchdown for the Eagles (5-0). His 12-yard run with 10 minutes 51 seconds left in the second quarter gave Santa Margarita a 10-0 lead.

Led by all-Southern Section linebacker Mike Farris, the Santa Margarita defense limited Division II Pasadena (2-3) to 228 yards of offense and eight first downs. The Eagles harassed quarterback Stacy Townsend into completing only five of 15 passes for 43 yards and intercepted one pass.

Pasadena bounced back in the third quarter. Mario Gulley scored from three yards out to cut the margin to 10-7 with 3:54 left.

Santa Margarita then went 51 yards in seven plays, with Josh Ireland scoring from 10-yards out. Ireland carried the ball 28 times for 109 yards.