MISSION VIEJO — Santa Margarita’s football team led in the third quarter, but fell to Centennial of Corona 34-21 Friday at Saddleback College.
The Eagles (1-1) had the lead at halftime and with just over a minute left in the third quarter despite playing without starting quarterback James Johnson, who suffered a leg injury last week.
“There’s no moral victories but I’m really proud of the guys and the way they battled,” Santa Margarita coach Anthony Rouzier said. “Centennial does a fantastic job. We played our hardest, played together and never quit.”
Hunter Melton made his first varsity start at quarterback for the Eagles. The lefty completed 7 of 17 passes for 134 yards.
Trent Mosley scored two rushing touchdowns for Santa Margarita from the quarterback position in a “wildcat” formation. He led the team in receiving with 58 yards and ran for 43.
Sophomore cornerback Logan Hirou had two interceptions to lead the Eagles’ defense, including one he returned 75 yards for a touchdown to give Santa Margarita a 14-7 lead.
“Last year was his first year of playing football and he did things like that consistently,” Rouzier said of Hirou. “There’s nothing cooler as a coach than seeing things click for a kid and that happened tonight for him.”
Centennial (1-1) was coming off a 28-14 loss to top-ranked Mater Dei last week.
Coach Matt Logan was pleased the team got a win, but felt the team could have played much better Friday.
“We didn’t play very well and were hoping to capitalize on some of the mistakes we made last week, but a win is a win,” Logan said. “We just have to get better and that’s why we play good teams like this so we can get better.”
Cornell Hatcher ran for 154 yards on 33 carries with three touchdowns to lead the Huskies. Quarterback Husan Longstreet threw for 222 yards with two touchdowns, both to sophomore Noah Westbrook.
Receiver Cory Butler had 100 yards receiving on six catches for Centennial.
Centennial opened the game with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Longstreet to Westbrook to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
After an interception by Hirou, Mosley ran for a 7-yard touchdown for Santa Margarita to tie the game at seven.
On the next Centennial possession, Lirou intercepted his second pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown to give Santa Margarita a 14-7 lead.
Hatcher ran for a 3-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, but the Huskies missed the extra point and Centennial trailed 14-13 at halftime.
The two teams traded leads in the third quarter. Longstreet completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Westbrook to put the Huskies ahead 20-14.
Mosley ran for his second touchdown of the game from 10 yards out to give Santa Margarita a 21-20 lead.
Centennial responded with a 52-yard scoring drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Hatcher. The Huskies attempted a run for a 2-point conversion, but were stuffed by the Eagles’ defense and Centennial led 26-21 entering the fourth quarter.
Hatcher ran for his third touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter. Longstreet completed a pass to Seth Zamora to convert the 2-point attempt to give the Huskies a 34-21 lead.
Centennial’s defense, led by Dez Polamalou, Sincere Brackett and Bryce Granger had five sacks. Charles Castille had an interception on a tipped pass by his teammate Tayten Beyer.
Noah Sulick had the lone sack of the game for Santa Margarita and led the defense in tackles with Gage Burnett.
