MISSION VIEJO It looks like another year of progress for JSerra football.
JSerra won a Trinity League opener and is 6-0 for only the second time after beating Santa Margarita, 35-28, Friday at Saddleback College.
The Lions scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. They had fallen behind, 14-0, in the first half.
Being 1-0 in the ultra-tough, six-team Trinity League is crucial. It is likely that a team will need three league wins to grab a guaranteed playoff berth. A team that is 0-1 almost certainly would have to win three of the final four league games to get a guaranteed berth.
The top three finishers in the Trinity League receive guaranteed playoff berths in the CIF-Southern Section’s Pac-5 Division, which is made up of five leagues. There are two at-large berths available in the Pac-5 for teams that don’t receive guaranteed playoff berths.
JSerra won its first Trinity League game in 2009. They won two league games for the first time last year, with season-ending wins over Servite and Santa Margarita but finished fourth and did not receive an at-large berth.
Beating nearby Santa Margarita two years in a row is special for JSerra.
“It’s an awesome win, especially coming against our rivals,” said JSerra quarterback Nick Robinson, who threw two touchdown passes. “It’s a big one, but now we’ve got to get ready for Bosco next week.”
JSerra plays host to state-No. 1 St. John Bosco next Friday at Orange Coast College.
Santa Margarita is 4-2 overall, 0-1 in league. The Eagles, whose other loss was to nationally ranked Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, play host to Orange Lutheran next Friday at Saddleback College.
Robinson rushed for 106 yards. Edward Vander rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns. His 34-yard touchdown run with 2:30 left in the game gave JSerra a 35-21 lead.
Santa Margarita got a touchdown with 1:12 to go on a 22-yard pass from KJ Costello to Conner Bianchini. The Eagles’ following onside kick went out of bounds. JSerra ran out the clock from there.
JSerra got its second win against Santa Margarita last year, 26-7, in the final game of the regular season.
Trailing, 14-6, at halftime, JSerra tied the score midway through the third quarter when Kevin Hicks alertly recovered a fumble in the Santa Margarita end zone; teammate Aaron Matthews, on an end around, fumbled the ball just before crossing the goal line. Matthews ran it in for two points to tie it, 14-14.
JSerra took a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter on a 22-yard touchdown run by Vander. Santa Margarita tied it, 21-21, on a 9-yard TD run by Christian Caragao in the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Diego-Williams turned a short pass from Robinson into a 37-yard touchdown to put the Lions back on top, 28-21, halfway through the fourth quarter. Vander’s 34-yard run made it 35-21.
Santa Margarita took the 14-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Matt Mark and a 20-yard touchdown pass to Bianchini.
JSerra scored late in the second quarter on a great catch by Ethan Aguayo. The kick for the extra point was blocked by the Eagles’ JP Hackett to keep the score 14-6.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
