Santa Margarita holds off Mater Dei to stay unbeaten

Santa Margarita High football coach Carson Palmer said special teams is the Eagles’ best phase of play. Not the elite defense, which had seven sacks and held Mater Dei to seven points on Friday night. Not the offense led by his son, Fletch, who completed 65% of his passes for 155 yards.

No, he was adamant that it is the special teams unit. Two plays from junior free safety Jake Martin proved his coach right after the 14-7 victory.

Twice Mater Dei attempted a field goal and twice the kick was missed. Martin juked blockers late in the first half to deflect the first attempt, keeping the score at 7-7. Then, he helped preserve a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter as his pressure on the outside forced a second miss.

“We’re unbreakable,” Martin said. . “We’re trying to go back-to-back. This is the team that’s going to do it.”

The chances of a second straight CIF Open Division state championship look good so far. Winning the Trinity League opener at Saddleback College kept the Eagles undefeated at 6-0. Mater Dei dropped to 4-2.

Of course, the Eagles’ offense and defense made plenty of important plays.

The game was sealed with an interception from freshman safety Jayden Jack, as Mater Dei freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess heaved the ball to the end zone with the Monarchs out of timeouts and out of options. That, coupled with a big sack from sophomore defensive lineman Kingston Jimmerson, killed the momentum on the visitors’ final drive.

It wasn’t a bad night for the young quarterback, though, as Guess staked his claim to the starting role for the Monarchs.

Mater Dei rotated three quarterbacks in nonleague play, and coach Raul Lara kept his cards tight to his chest before the game. The starter was Guess, who took more than 90% of the snaps on a night when he finished 16 for 22 for 163 yards with one interception and no touchdowns.

“He’s dynamic, but the problem with him is that he’s a freshman who just came into the program and is getting his feet wet,” Lara said before kickoff.

The impressive Santa Margarita front exposed those growing pains. Guess held on to the ball too long and took too many hits.

His playmaking ability did give Mater Dei a chance until the final moments, as he scrambled around and found senior wide receiver Gavin Honore down the sideline. The inconsistency on offense, though, has been a source of frustration for Lara.

“It all comes down to execution. We have to execute,” he said. “When we have the opportunity to make a play, we need to make that play and take advantage of it.”

Mater Dei’s defensive line had a solid game, holding Santa Margarita star sophomore running back Adrian Petero to 41 yards on 11 carries, although he scored his team’s first touchdown.

It was Santa Margarita’s junior quarterback who had the decisive play as Palmer found junior wide receiver Grant Van Raaphorst in the back of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Mater Dei sophomore running back Asir Nembhard had the only touchdown for his team, giving the Monarchs their only lead of the night in the first quarter.

Before the game, Palmer said he tells his players to never take an opponent too lightly nor build it up too much. The former NFL quarterback played in a division with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, so he knows a thing or two about a competitive schedule like the Trinity League offers.

“We’ve got a target on our back after last year, and we know that,” Palmer said. “We know that we are highlighted on other teams’ schedules.”

He also emphasized that his team could improve in every aspect of the game. That is certainly a scary prospect for foes facing the No. 1 team in the state.