Santa Margarita Scores Easy Victory Over Saddleback

SANTA ANA —  Santa Margarita did all its scoring in the first half as the Eagles rolled to a 35-14 Sea View League victory over Saddleback at Santa Ana Stadium.

The Eagles (6-2, 3-2) scored two touchdowns before the Roadrunners could muster their second play from scrimmage.

Brad Finneran, who caught two touchdown passes, was on the scoring end of 5-yard pass from Derek Yankoff only 3 minutes 9 seconds into the game. Marc Aranda recovered an Eagle fumble in the end zone on 3:51 later to give Santa Margarita a 14-0 lead.

Aranda’s recovery came after Brad Finneran caught a 30-yard pass from Yankoff at the Roadrunner 3-yard line as the Eagles faced a fourth-and-20 situation. Finneran was stripped of the ball in what appeared to be an incomplete pass, but an alert Aranda jumped on the loose ball in the end zone for what turned out to be a touchdown.

Chris Collins scored on a 1-yard run minutes before Brian Finneran intercepted a Roadrunner pass and ran 28 yards for a touchdown, giving the Eagles a 28-0 lead.

The Roadrunners (2-6, 1-4) managed scoring runs of 43 yards by Aaron Pulsifer and 30 yards from Danny Gonzalez in the second and third quarters respectively.

Brian Finneran caught a game-high five passes for 122 yards for the Eagles, who remained in the league title race.