Eagles Flying Right With Orlando at Controls

Greg Orlando is the first to admit that he’s not your typical quarterback, not by Santa Margarita’s standards anyway. But Orlando has shown that he still has plenty in common with his predecessors, namely his ability to win.

Orlando passed for 198 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 111 yards in 11 carries Thursday as Santa Margarita defeated Newport Harbor, 38-14, in a Sea View League game at Newport Harbor.

“I’m not the kind of quarterback we’re used to having at this school, I know I’m not and I don’t try to be,” Orlando said.

The sixth-ranked Eagles (7-1, 3-0) have hardly suffered with Orlando running the offense instead of Carson Palmer, who threw for 2,607 yards and 31 touchdowns in leading the Eagles to the Division V championship last season. Orlando has thrown for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 460 yards and a team-high five touchdowns.

In the Eagles’ 27-6 victory over Corona del Mar last week, Orlando rushed for 108 yards and passed for another 136.

“Orlando’s scrambling ability has been effective, at least the last two weeks in a row,” Santa Margarita Coach Jim Hartigan said. “Passing-wise, this is a good night for him, we don’t normally just crank back and throw the ball a ton with him, but we can if we need to.”

Orlando’s running ability is so valuable that he even talked Hartigan into letting him return punts again this season.

“I wasn’t going to let him do it in the off-season, but he has some special abilities when he runs,” Hartigan said.

Orlando’s 85-yard touchdown pass to Mike O’Gorman late in the first quarter gave Santa Margarita a 7-0 lead. Orlando’s 42-yard scramble early in the third quarter set up his five-yard touchdown pass to Matt Lopez, which gave the Eagles 21-7 lead.