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Associate mug of Kenny Connolly, Anaheim reporter.

Date shot: 12/31/2012 . Photo by KATE LUCAS /  ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Thanksgiving morning practice is sacred ground in the high school football community.

Strapping up the helmet for walk-throughs prior to a holiday feast is one of the signs a team has had a successful campaign.

This year, 11 local teams are in a position to practice Thursday morning. Of those schools, two squads have made it to this point unscathed – St. Margaret’s and Saddleback Valley Christian.

As the last two remaining unbeatens in the county, the Tartans and Warriors have compiled 12-0 records headed into the final weekend of November. On Friday night, only one team will walk off the field 13-0, as the two San Juan Capistrano-based schools will square off in an East Valley Division semifinal at San Juan Hills High.

“It’s such a great honor to be playing this late in the season,” SVC coach Brian Pearsall explained. “We’ve believed in ourselves all year long. Now we have a tough opponent in St. Margaret’s ahead of us. They’ve been No. 1 all season long in our division. With all the kids knowing each other, it’s going to be a great game.”

With the campuses being 2 miles apart, the St. Margaret’s and SVC rosters are filled with players who grew up playing youth football with and against one another. As Pearsall explained, the personal familiarity adds a great deal to the matchup’s intrigue.

“We’re one exit down the freeway,” the Warriors’ first-year coach said. “This is a community game. It’s great for San Juan Capistrano.”

Both schools survived their closest games of the season in last week’s second round. The Tartans edged out St. Genevieve of Panorama City, 36-34, while Saddleback Valley Christian went on the road and topped Silver Valley of Yermo, 38-35.

St. Margaret’s halfback Oscar Gomez carried the ball a season-high 31 times last week, running for 189 yards and three touchdowns. In similar fashion, SVC’s tandem backfield of David Molina (227 yards) and Charlie Morris (100 yards) led the way against Silver Valley. As a team, the Warriors rushed for 440 yards and five touchdowns.

“Our offense is starting to click on all cylinders,” Pearsall said. “Our quarterback Cade Henjum is managing the game very effectively, making big plays for us when we need it.”

He added: “Looking at St. Margaret’s, they’re a team that does everything right. They have no real weaknesses and they don’t beat themselves. … Whoever can execute its game plan more effectively on Friday night should be able to move on.”

SURPRISE SEMIFINALIST

There might be no greater surprise this postseason than what El Modena has done. After finishing the regular season with a 3-7 record, the Vanguards got into the postseason by earning the last at-large berth in the Southern Division.

After topping Katella, the Orange League champs, in the opening round, El Modena put forth one of its best offensive showings of the season in a 41-20 win over Santiago last week.

Vanguards running back Kenneth Lamb ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. The 5-foot7- junior speedster has been the focal point of the team’s offense these past two weeks, compiling a total of 281 yards and four scores.

El Modena will host top-seeded Garden Grove on Friday night with the a newfound confidence. If the Vanguards can continue to move the ball on the ground with Lamb and Dillon Keefe, look for the third-place finishers from the North Hills League to be right there with Garden Grove with a ticket to the finals on the line.

Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com