EAGLES 14, ST. PAUL 3 (SANTA FE SPRINGS, Sept. 10, 2004) – The Eagles used a balanced attack on offense and a solid defensive outing to post a 14-3 win over the St. Paul Swordsmen (1-1) before a crowd of 4,000 at “The Pit”. The Swordsmen who were coming off an impressive 48-20 win over Long Beach Jordan in Zero the prior week could not get untracked against the quicker Eagle defensive unit. Things started off well for the hosts. On the Swordsmen’s first offensive series they used a 22-yard run by Dwight Tardy and a 30-yard scamper from Diego Meza to move into Eagle territory. After a completion and facemask penalty gave St. Paul a first and goal at the 14 the Eagle defense clamped down and forced a 31-yard field goal from Randall Reynoso at the 8:10 mark. From that point forward Santa Margarita’s defense completely shut down the Swordsmen allowing only four first downs and 69 total yards the rest of the game. After forcing a short punt on St. Paul’s third possession the Eagles needed only 1:27 to march 39 yards to take the lead for good. A nine-yard completion from Jon Daniels (10 of 18 for 127 yards) to Jacob Gordon (three receptions for 29 yards) resulted in a first down and consecutive runs of eight and ten yards by Omar Villamar (13 carries for 41 yards) set up a first and goal on the one. A fumble on the ensuing play on the exchange between Gordon and Russell Hoeflich saw the ball roll into the endzone where an alert Matt Steinbach fell on it for a TD with 1:28 left in the quarter; however, the PAT was missed and the score was 6-3. The Eagles couldn’t capitalize on a thirteen-play drive in the second quarter when a fourth down run by Hoeflich (11-33) was stopped inches short of the sticks at the St. Paul 15 with 5:33 remaining before intermission.

In the third quarter, Ross Cumming’s batted pass and Bryan Redsun’s sack stopped the Swordsmen’s initial drive of the second half. On their next series a 36-yard interception return by linebacker Mike Rusert gave the Eagles a first down on the St. Paul seven where Jon Angelo (8-40) ran in untouched for the score one play later. Daniels hit Steinbach with a pass in the flat for the two-point conversion to close out the scoring with 5:30 left in the third quarter. In the final quarter the Eagles salted away the victory by playing ball control and used 7:14 to march down to the St. Paul 10 before the drive stalled and a missed field goal resulted.

The Eagles controlled the clock for over 29 minutes and limited St. Paul to only 136 total yards. Sean Aldridge spearheaded the Eagle defensive unit with nine tackles and ½ sacks while seniors Kyle Bryant and Rusert added eight each. Redsun was named both the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Game for his efforts which included three receptions for a team-high 40 yards while adding four tackles and 1 ½ sacks.