Santa Margarita Starts Slowly, But Still Wins Big

In a game dedicated to Darren Wedertz, a junior varsity football player who is in a coma and was diagnosed this week with leukemia, Santa Margarita routed Woodbridge, 51-32, Friday night at Saddleback College.

For the Eagles, it was an emotional victory that followed an emotional week.

“We’re dedicating the rest of the season to Darren,” Santa Margarita Coach Jim Hartigan said of Wedertz, who was injured in a game last week. “Hopefully we can get some more wins for him.

“We’re all praying and hoping for a full recovery.”

Santa Margarita started sluggishly, and Woodbridge jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter when quarterback Shea Stone fired touchdown passes of 28 and 63 yards.

But Santa Margarita bounced back in the second quarter and took a 21-20 halftime lead with a 10-yard touchdown run by Chris Tiernan, who finished as the game’s leading rusher with 99 yards in 16 carries.

The Eagles (8-2, 5-2 in league) pulled away in the third quarter with three quick touchdowns.

The first came when Kevin Duffy scored on a five-yard run.

Less than a minute later, defensive back Brad Finneran intercepted a Stone pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.

Duffy picked off a pass less than two minutes later and ran 28 yards for another touchdown, giving the Eagles a 41-20 lead.

Woodbridge (2-7-1, 1-5-1) made a final charge, closing to 41-26, when quarterback Matt Sauk, who came off the bench to replace Stone, connected with Brian Carlson for a 38-yard touchdown pass.

But Santa Margarita put the game out of reach with a 24-yard Ryan Korinke field goal and a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sean O’Brien to Finneran.

Asked about his team’s slow start, O’Brien said: “We just weren’t into it. We came out real sluggish. We knew we were going to the playoffs, and we knew they were going to be fired up because it was their last game.”