Hartigan’s 100th Is Big Victory for Santa Margarita

One of the adjustments Santa Margarita has had to make in moving from Division VI to Division I is matching up physically with teams in the higher division.

But that wasn’t a weakness Friday night against Bellflower St. John Bosco. The Eagles did the manhandling, wearing down the Braves in a 35-17 victory at St. John Bosco in the teams’ first Serra League game.

The win, which improved the Eagles’ record to 6-2 overall, was the 100th victory for Santa Margarita Coach Jim Hartigan, who is 100-31-1 as the only football coach in the school’s 11 seasons of varsity play.

The victory also relieves some of the pressure on the Eagles going into next Saturday’s league game against Mater Dei at Edison Field. With only three league games in the season, every game is critical.

“It would have been difficult to go into next week’s game getting over the disappointment of losing and getting back up to play a team of Mater Dei’s caliber,” Hartigan said. “We still have a lot of work to do to step on the same field with them.”

Hartigan and staff can rest easier thanks to the impressive ground work by running backs Tyler Thompson and James Herzog.

Thompson was lightning to Herzog’s thunder. Thompson, a junior tailback, gained 129 yards in 10 carries and had scoring runs of 50, one and 54 yards. He also had an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. His four touchdowns matched the school record.

Herzog, meanwhile, dragged tacklers three yards here and four yards there. He did have one big gain of 48 yards in the fourth quarter when the Braves (2-6, 0-1) were tired of trying to bring him down. Herzog finished with a game-high 160 yards in 20 carries.

“I thought both of them were fantastic tonight,” Hartigan said.

“We came into the game with the intention to throw the ball. But the passing game was inconsistent, and I felt we had to mix in the run more. Obviously we found something we liked.”

Quarterback Chris Rix did not have a stellar night throwing, completing seven for 21 for 116 yards with two interceptions. But he did throw a 56-yard touchdown pass to receiver David Doomey in the third quarter that gave Santa Margarita the lead for good, 21-17. And he engineered an eight-play, 98-yard drive near the end of the quarter--Thompson finished that off with the 54-yard touchdown run--that broke the Braves’ spirit.

Freshman running back Derek Williams, making his second varsity start, was the Braves’ best player Friday, rushing for 140 yards and a touchdown in 20 carries. At 14 he is the first freshman to play on the St. John Bosco varsity.