Eagles 21 - Sierra Canyon 9
CHATSWORTH, CA., November 14, 2025 – WRITEUP COMING SOON
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| Sierra Canyon | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
SC – Sobel 34 FG
SM – Clark 33 pass from Johnson (Wiegand kick)
SC – Barnes 2 run (kick blocked)
SM – Clark 42 pass from Johnson (Wiegand kick)
SM – T. Mosley 8 run (Wiegand kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - T. Mosley 6-41, Ja. Smith 4-14; SC - Stokes 24-124, Barnes 4-43;
Passing: SM - Johnson 10-18-0-160; SC - Finkel 9-23-1-92;
Receiving: SM - Clark 2-75, Martin 3-42; SC - Baker 4-52;
Compiled by Chuck Nan
Statistics by Shane Mielke
Santa Margarita topples unbeaten Sierra Canyon in quarterfinal showdown
CHATSWORTH, CA., November 14, 2025 – A rare November storm dumped continuous gallons of rain on players and fans Friday night across Southern California, creating opportunities for underdogs in the quarterfinals of the high school football playoffs.
No one was better prepared for rain than Santa Margarita quarterback Trace Johnson, who played last season in Florida. “Every other game was rain,” he said.
Johnson fired touchdown passes of 33 and 34 yards to sophomore Ryan Clark to help No. 5-seeded Santa Margarita (8-3) hand No. 4-seeded Sierra Canyon (10-1) its first defeat, 21-9, to advance to the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals.
The big stunner of the night was No. 8-seeded Orange Lutheran eliminating No. 1-seeded St. John Bosco 20-19 when the Braves missed an extra point in the final two minutes. Orange Lutheran (3-8) lost to St. John Bosco 48-0 in the regular season. The big play was sophomore King Rich Johnson returning an interception for a touchdown and a 20-13 lead. The Lancers will host Santa Margarita next week at Orange Coast College.
“To go from losing 48-0 to beating a team in the playoffs speaks to their character and continued growth,” Orange Lutheran coach Rod Sherman said. “Our goal is to play our best football at the end of the year. We don’t make excuses with our young team. We played our best football game of the year. I’m super proud of our guys. They got over the mental block that they can play with anyone in the country.”
The other semifinal will have Mater Dei at Corona Centennial. Centennial defeated Servite 41-6. Mater Dei defeated Mission Viejo 20-0.
Sierra Canyon had never trailed this season, led by a defense considered the best in the region. But Johnson stunned the Trailblazers with his touchdown pass to Clark at the end of the first half for a 7-3 halftime lead. Sierra Canyon scored on its opening possession of the second half to go on top 9-7, but after that, it was Santa Margarita’s defense displaying its dominating form.
Isaia Vandermade sacked Sierra Canyon quarterback Laird Fink twice in the second half. He also batted down a pass attempt. Fink was limited to 92 yards passing. The Eagles had three second-half sacks, with leading tackler Leki Holani making tackle after tackle.
Santa Margarita entered the Division 1 playoffs under first-year coach Carson Palmer having played six of the seven teams in one of the toughest regular-season schedules. Palmer singled out Clark, who’s also the Eagles’ punter.
“He was unbelievable,” Palmer said. “He made plays all night.”
Said Clark: “They were great throws. We practiced good all week.”
Sierra Canyon’s Jaxsen Stokes rushed for 106 yards, but lost opportunities in the first half proved costly. The Trailblazers tried three field goals. Carter Sobel made a 34-yard field goal, but he had one blocked and missed from 42 yards. Fink had a pass intercepted in the end zone by Siua Holani in another huge play for the Eagles.
With seven commits to USC playing on the drenched Sierra Canyon all-weather field and USC Heisman Trophy winner Palmer coaching Santa Margarita, it would have been a perfect time to hire Traveler to take a gallop around the field or borrow the Trojans’ band to play “Tusk.”
Palmer has certainly made an impact in his first s†int as a high school coach.
“It’s been real fun and it’s still going,” he said.
By Eric Sondheimer
Friday, November 14, 2025
The Los Angeles Times
Santa Margarita football prevails over Sierra Canyon in Division 1 defensive battle
CHATSWORTH, CA., November 14, 2025 – Sierra Canyon’s vaunted defense hadn’t given up more than 14 points in a game all year.
Like it had all season, the defense held its own for the first 23 minutes of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 opening playoff game against Santa Margarita, but the Eagles were able to break through the Trailblazers’ defense thanks in large part to a pair of touchdown catches by Ryan Clark.
The sophomore wide receiver had three touchdowns all season. He left the rainy and wet Sierra Canyon field Friday night with two more touchdowns to his name, helping propel the Eagles to a 21-9 win over the Trailblazers.
“It feels good. I’ve always wanted to score two times in a game and it came true today,” Clark said.
“I’m not surprised, he’s just a football player,” Santa Margarita head coach Carson Palmer said about Clark. “He was the MVP of the freshman team last year. He punts it for us, he punt returns, he kick returns. …He’s just a football player.”
While Sierra Canyon’s defense was locking down Santa Margarita’s offense for much of the first half, the Eagles were able to manufacture a scoring drive late in the second quarter, culminating in Clark’s first touchdown.
Santa Margarita quarterback Trace Johnson found a streaking Clark down the left sideline, who made a contested catch and dove into the end zone with 18 seconds left in the half.
“The route was just a 10-yard route, but (Johnson) gave me the go for a touchdown,” Clark said. “It gave us momentum that we carried through the game.”
Trailing 7-3 at the half, Sierra Canyon’s offense came out with energy and vigor in the third quarter, piecing together a scoring drive, led by De’Markus Barnes.
Barnes had a long run on a fourth-and-1 at midfield, setting up his 2-yard touchdown run a play later that gave Sierra Canyon a 9-7 lead.
It was short-lived, however.
On the Eagles’ ensuing possession, a well-designed trick play placed Johnson out wide, who then went back toward the ball and received a short pitch from Adrian Petero.
The design gave Johnson more time in the pocket to find Clark once again, who made a diving acrobatic catch for a 42-yard touchdown.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know (Johnson) was going to throw it to me. He stepped up in the pocket and I thought he was going to run,” Clark said. “But I saw the ball in the air and I went to go get it.”
Penalties and missed opportunities plagued the Trailblazers in the first half. Every time they got close to scoring, a turnover or special teams blunder would squash the drive.
Sierra Canyon’s first field goal attempt was blocked and its third field goal attempt was a miss.
Sierra Canyon quarterback Laird Finkel was also intercepted by Santa Margarita’s Siua Holani in the end zone.
The Eagles, also their defensive prowess, put the clamps on Sierra Canyon after the opening touchdown of the second half.
The Trailblazers weren’t able to get much traction on offense after that, and Santa Margarita was able to put the game away, helped by a Trent Mosley 8-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter that ended up being the last points of the contest.
Sierra Canyon finishes the season with a 10-1 record. Its players and coaches left the field immediately after the game.
Santa Margarita will play Orange Lutheran next week, 20-19 winners over St. John Bosco.
By Dan Lovi
Friday, November 14, 2025
The Orange County Register
