MISSION VIEJO – Santa Margarita’s first string got off work early Friday night.
Most of the starting Eagles played just the first half in a 49-8 rout of Westlake in a nonleague game at Saddleback College.
Richard Wagner and Chad Magyar each ran for two first-half touchdowns and Wagner led a balanced offense with 111 passing yards on 12-of-15 accuracy as the Eagles (3-1 and ranked No. 3 in Orange County) rolled up a 42-0 halftime lead.
The huge lead dictated a running clock for the second half and brought in the second-string Eagles, who tacked on another touchdown on Kyle Hastings’ 14-yard run with 1:56 left in the third quarter.
Westlake (1-3) avoided a shutout with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Jake Kaplinski to Carson Kuhl and a 2-point conversion pass by the same duo with 5:36 left in the game.
The offensive stats don’t reflect Santa Margarita’s dominance because the Eagles’ defense provided excellent field position all night. The entire second quarter was played on Westlake’s side of the field as the Eagles forced seven consecutive punts in the game, two of them shanked out of bounds and one returned 19 yards by Malone Mataele.
Santa Margarita held the Warriors to 5 yards rushing and 116 for the night. Alex Kilander and Luke Bobruk had sacks, Kyle Osborne recovered a fumble and Jordan Tollner had an interception.
Westlake forced a Santa Margarita 3-and-out on the first possession of the game, but that was the last time the Warriors would stop the Eagles. Westlake muffed the ensuing punt, and Santa Margarita converted it into Magyar’s 19-yard touchdown run just 2:08 into the game.
That started a string of seven consecutive touchdowns on the Eagles’ next seven possessions. All came on runs, including a 22-yard jaunt by Oklahoma-bound receiver Grant Calcaterra.
Magyar led the rushing attack with 66 yards on six carries, and backup quarterback Brendan Costello carried seven times for 57 yards. Bryce Williams ran for 44 yards on eight carries, all in the fourth quarter.
Santa Margarita will play at Martin Luther King in Riverside next Thursday.
