La Verne Damien Gets Around Santa Margarita, 25-20 : DIVISION IV

LA VERNE — Damien’s A.J. Blackmore scored from four-yards out with 1 minute 22 seconds to play to give the Spartans a 25-20 victory over Santa Margarita in front of 3,500 at Damien High.

Santa Margarita appeared to be in control when Derek Yankoff connected with Brian Finneran on a five-yard touchdown pass to give the Eagles a 20-19 lead with 2:20 to play.

However, a short kick and a face-mask penalty gave Damien the ball on the Santa Margarita 48-yard line to set up the winning drive.

“We’re going to learn what it takes to win a playoff game,” Santa Margarita Coach Jim Hartigan said. “The kids played hard and were able to come out after being sluggish (in the first quarter) but they (Damien) were able to come back and take it to us.

“We made some mistakes and had a few costly penalties and you just can’t do that in the playoffs or else you’re going to get beat.”

Santa Margarita spotted Damien a nine-point lead before the Eagles scored. Yankoff threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Finneran and scored on a 12-yard run to give the Eagles a 13-9 halftime lead.

In the second half, Damien was able to come back when Blackmore scored on a one-yard run and Armando Hernandez kicked a 29-yard field goal to take a 19-13 lead.

“I’m really proud of the way the kids came out and played, I think it was a great accomplishment for this team, considering that we only had three returning starters from last years team,” Hartigan said.