No. 10 Santa Margarita (6-2, 1-0) vs. No. 1 Mater Dei (7-1, 1-0)

By BEN BOLCH

Nov. 3, 2000 12 AM PT

7:30 TONIGHT CAL STATE FULLERTON

This is a matchup of the two teams with the highest all-time winning percentages in Orange County, but the outcome could be very one-sided. Last season, Mater Dei pummeled Santa Margarita, 34-0, in the teams’ first meeting as Serra League rivals. The Eagles need to keep the score low and utilize a ball-control, run-oriented offense to avoid a repeat. Santa Margarita running back Tyler Thompson has run for more than 200 yards in two consecutive games. Mater Dei’s Matt Leinart will probably become the first county quarterback this season to break 2,000 yards passing. Leinart needs 33 yards to do so.

KEY PLAYERS

Santa Margarita

QB Matt Dlugolecki

55%, 1,014 yards, 14 TDs

RB Tyler Thompson

932 yards, 11 TDs

WR Curtis Cooper

18 rec., 236 yards, 5 TDs

Mater Dei

QB Matt Leinart

64%, 1,968 yards, 16 TDs

WR Jeff Diulio

53 rec., 858 yards, 6 TDs

RB Darius Williams

100 carries, 485 yards, 3 TDs

High School Sports

Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

No. 10 Santa Margarita (6-2, 1-0) vs. No. 1 Mater Dei (7-1, 1-0)

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