St. John Bosco - Game Notes
| Varsity Game No. and Record: |
164 | 121-39-3 (.752) |
| Home Game No. and Record: |
85 | 65-16-3 (.792) |
| Record at Saddleback College: |
58-13-2 | (.808) |
| Week 6 Record: | 11-2 | (.846) |
| Record vs. St. John Bosco: | 5-0 | (2002 is 6th Mtg) |
| Record vs. L.A. County Schools: | 25-5 | (.833) |
| Record vs. Serra League teams (since ’91): |
14-3-1 | (.806) |
| Record vs. Catholic Schools: | 20-6-1 | (.759) |
| Record on Friday: | 101-33-3 | (.748) |
| Record as a Division I team: | 27-10-2 | (.718) |
The win over Trabuco Hills improved the Eagles to 5-0 on the season and
marked their best start since 1997. They are seeking to begin their season
6-0 for the third time. It has done in 1990 and 1997.
This is the sixth game between Santa Margarita and the St. John
Bosco Braves and their third meeting at Saddleback College. The
Eagles are 5-0 all time vs. the Braves and been fortunate to have
never scored fewer than 35 points against them. In 2001,
Ashton White put on one of the greatest individual performances
in Eagle history as he rushed for 283 yards, scored four touchdowns
and registered 12 tackles in leading the Eagles to a 35-17 win.
(A recap of this game is included herein). In 2000, Tyler
Thompson rushed for 203 yards and Ashton White added 137 as the
Eagles began Serra League play with a convincing 49-28 win at
Saddleback College. In 1999, Tyler Thompson rushed for
130 yards and tied a school record with four touchdowns as the
Eagles rolled to a 35-17 win at St. John Bosco. In 1993,
the Eagles won a wild 35-32 shootout, while in 1992, QB
Sean O'Brien led the Eagles to a 42-6 win.
The Braves are 3-2 on the season after defeating Narbonne 27-7. Last year they got off to a great 5-2 start and finished in 3rd place in the Serra League. They advanced to the CIF Playoffs before losing 56-34 to Edison and finishing 6-5. The Braves are led by fifth-year coach Kiki Mendoza who is 19-28 (.404) overall.
The Eagles are ranked 3rd in Orange County, 5th in the West by USA Today, 5th in CIF-SS Division I, 6th and 7th in Southern California per the L.A. Times and CalHi Sports respectively, 7th in California per CalHi Sports, and 9th and 14th in the West respectively per the National Prep Poll and Student Sports, and 25th in the nation by USA Today. They have been ranked in the Orange County Top 10 for 76 of the last 84 polls, including 21 in a row, regionally ranked by USA Today for 12 of the past 22 polls, and in the CIF Division I Top 10 for 32 of the 36 weekly polls since joining Division I in 1999.
Head Coach Jim Hartigan - AFCA
Jim Hartigan, 42, is 121-39-3 (.752) in his 14th season as the Eagles'
varsity Head Coach. Overall, Coach Hartigan has a 137-42-4 (.760) record
in 16 seasons if you include 10-0 and 6-3-1 lower level teams that he
led in 1987 and 1988 respectively before the Eagles fielded varsity teams.
He has won four League Championships and two CIF Titles in the past six
years and has seen his team ranked as high as 12th in the nation (USA
Today). Jim was honored as the both the 1996 and 1997 Daily Pilot Sea
View League Coach of the Year, CIF-SS Division V Coach of the Year and
the National Football Foundation Orange County Coach of the Year. Coach
Hartigan has directed his squads into the playoffs in 12 of their 13 seasons,
including seven in a row, and has never posted a losing season. He has
coached ten High School All-Americans, 72 players who have gone on to
play in the collegiate ranks and five who have gone on to the NFL. His
28-game winning streak from 1996-98 is the second best in Orange County
history.
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
