Santa Margarita finished it's eighth varsity season with
a 13-1 record and captured the Sea View League Championship
and the CIF-SS Division V Championship. The Eagles finished
the regular season as the third ranked school in Orange County
and ranked second in Division V. The No. 3 ranking in the
County was the best ever. Santa Margarita also finished ranked
16th in the state. The Eagles set plenty of team records during
the season including wins (13), points scored (486), touchdowns
(65), total yards (5,570, and All-League First Teamers (7).
The Eagles also tied the school record with five shutouts
and have managed to keep the opponents from scoring a touchdown
for a record 32 consecutive series. The table below shows
how the 1996 teams compared to two of the better teams in
Eagle history.
Leading the way last year were several players who made
their mark on Eagle history. RB Billy Newman set the tone
in Week 1 with 364 yards rushing at Trabuco Hills and never
looked back as he rushed for 2,320 yards and scored 24 Td's
on his way to setting 24 school records. OT Stan Bennet paved
the way to the endzone by establishing school records for
decleaters in season (39.5) and in a career (59.5). LB/FB
Damien Minna collected 115 tackles and managed 242 yards on
the ground. Fellow senior WR/SS Brett Crowder added 18 receptions
and 92 tackles. Juniors Andrew Holstein, John Minardi, Carson
Palmer, and Nick Sparks each contributed substantially to
the Eagles success.
The Eagles finished their playoff run with three consecutive
shutouts including a 38-0 win at home vs. Valencia, an impressive
31-0 win on the road over a talented Tustin High team in Week
13, and of course a 38-0 win over league rival Newport Harbor
in the CIF Championship game.
The Eagles have held their four playoff opponents to a total
of 666 yards. An average of 166.5 per game. They also outscored
the opposition 158-6 in those games. On the season the Eagles
held their opponents to 2.9 yards per rush, but in the playoffs
they limited the opposition to 297 yards on 140 carries for
a mere 2.1 yard average.
During their 11 game winning streaks the Eagles outscored
their opponents 394-85 and average margin of victory of 28
points.
The Eagles posted their 11th consecutive win and fifth shutout
of the season with an impressive 38-0 victory over Sea View
League rival Newport Harbor (12-2) before an estimated crowd
of 8,000 in the 1996 CIF Division V Championship game at Cal
State Fullerton. Billy Newman rushed for 253 yards and 2 Td's,
Carson Palmer passed for a career high 245 yards and 3 Td's
to John Minardi and DE Austin Jayred tied a school record
with 4 sacks as the Eagles won their first ever CIF Football
Championship. The Eagles wasted little time as Billy Newman
returned the opening kickoff 40 yards to the sailor 49. On
first down the Eagles called the same play they started the
season with as Carson Palmer handed to Newman, who the pitched
back to Palmer who passed to a streaking John Minardi for
a TD and a quick 7-0 lead. On the Eagles' second possession
Palmer hit WR Billy O'Connor with a post pattern and it looked
as if the Eagles would score again, but he was stripped at
the goal line and the ball rolled through the back of the
end zone. After forcing the Sailors to punt, the Eagles needed
two plays to score as Palmer faked an end around and passed
to Minardi for a 68-yard TD to make it 13-0 as the first quarter
came to an end. In the second quarter it was more of the same.
Sparks made up for his missed PAT with a career long 43-yard
FG to up the score to 16-0. Billy Newman then added 91- and
1- yard TD runs to make it 31-0 with 3:34 left in the half.
After stopping the Sailors on down the Santa Margarita offense
needed just 31 seconds to score again as Palmer hit Minardi
for the last time on a 38 yard hook up. The Eagles gained
425 yards in the first half alone on their way to 546 - second
best in school history. On defense the Eagles held the Sailors
to 0 or less yards on 33 plays, and 13 of standout Ray Ohrel's
25 carries were of on yard or less. In the third quarter the
Eagles had a goal line stand to remember as the Sailors had
first down at the one, but were turned back on three running
plays before Damien Minna and Andrew Holstien recorded a sack
on 4th and goal from the three.
