MISSION VIEJO – As many times as KJ Costello threw the ball against Orange Lutheran on Friday night, when the game was on the line, he used his legs.
Santa Margarita’s 6-foot-5 junior quarterback isn’t the fleetest of foot, but trailing by six points and facing fourth down with 18 seconds remaining, he rolled right and dove into the end zone to score from 6 yards out to tie the score at 41-41.
Kyle Sweet’s extra point a moment later put the Eagles up for good in a 42-41 Trinity League win at Saddleback College.
On the Eagles’ (5-2, 1-1) final drive, Costello rushed seven times for 22 yards and converted on two fourth downs to cap a 20-point fourth-quarter comeback, which tied a school record.
“This game was defined by heart,” Costello said. “Obviously, we’re a pass-first team and we come out with an incredible pass attack, and it makes us that much more dangerous when I can run the football.”
Costello wasn’t understating the “pass-first” aspect of the Santa Margarita offense. The junior set school records for passing yards (502), pass completions (35) and pass attempts (48) in the victory. He threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more, tying another school record, with six total scores.
Costello’s favorite targets were Sweet, Conner Bianchini and Noah Rasheed, who finished with 224, 149 and 108 receiving yards, respectively.
Things looked bleak for the Eagles, however, when Orange Lutheran (4-3, 0-2) took a 41-21 lead late in the third quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from LJ Northington to Austin Liles, to push the Lancers’ lead to 41-21. Costello even threw an interception on Santa Margarita’s next drive and the Eagles’ problems seemed to be snowballing.
But Costello ran in his first touchdown with 8:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, connected on a 48-yard score with Sweet with 5:21 left and capped his night with the leap into the end zone in the final moments. The Eagles defense, which allowed Orange Lutheran to rush for 230 yards in the first half, held the Lancers to minus-1 yard of total offense in the fourth quarter.
“We became a team tonight,” Santa Margarita coach Rick Curtis said. “We just battled. We didn’t get down on ourselves and kept telling them, ‘Just keep coming back.’”
The Eagles also excelled in crucial, sometimes overlooked plays. On the final extra point, the snap came in high, but was pulled down and held in place deftly by holder Noah Canty.
Late in the second quarter, when Orange Lutheran pulled ahead 20-7 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Northington to Markell Quinn, junior JP Hackett blocked the ensuing extra point.
“We got the block, we got the great hold – the little things are what make things happen,” Curtis said.
As the Eagles stormed the field in celebration, the Lancers were despondent, dropping their second loss in as many weeks in heartbreaking fashion.
Orange Lutheran coach Chuck Petersen was visibly frustrated after the game and kept his postgame comments brief.
“No, I can’t (comment),” Petersen said. “It was a great football game and they deserved to win.”
The loss spoiled what was a brilliant execution of the Orange Lutheran offense for three quarters. Northington operated the Lancers’ option attack to near perfection, but the offense hit a wall in the fourth quarter.
The Lancers finished with 310 yards rushing and five Orange Lutheran players had 40 yards on the ground or more, led by Northington with 76.
Contact the writer: jbalan@ocregister.com
