MISSION VIEJO – Kyle Sweet finished with a school-record 15 catches Friday night, but it was the one he snared on the final play of the first half that will stick in his memory long after the rest.
Sweet came down with a tipped Hail Mary pass for a 45-yard touchdown, giving Santa Margarita some much-needed breathing room in a 21-10 intersectional victory against Dorsey of Los Angeles at Saddleback College.
Sweet finished with 201 receiving yards en route to besting the previous record of 14 catches set by Brian Finneran, who went on to play 13 seasons in the NFL.
“It was kind of like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” said Sweet, who came within one catch of tying the record against Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas last season. “It definitely feels good, but I can’t take all the credit.”
Sweet was referring the rest of the offense, particularly junior quarterback K.J. Costello, who completed 22 of 35 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns.
On the Hail Mary play, Dorsey tried to run out the first-half clock after surrendering the first touchdown of the game with 1:07 remaining. The Dons were forced to call a timeout with five seconds left to avoid a delay-of-game penalty, then punted the ball out of bounds near midfield as the clock expired. The Santa Margarita coaching staff immediately held up one finger, indicating there should be a second left on the clock.
The officials huddled and agreed, giving the Eagles possession at the Dorsey 45-yard line. Costello dropped back and heaved the ball toward the goal line, where a handful of players from both teams leaped in the air near the 5-yard line. Sweet hung back near the 2 and neatly snagged the tipped ball about a foot off the ground and then dived across the goal line. The Eagles took a 14-3 lead into the locker room.
“That was just the right place at the right time,” Sweet said. “I knew there was a good chance of it getting tipped, so I just put myself in the right position.”
