St. Margaret's marches past Santa Paula
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO St. Margaret’s continued its impressive run towards a fourth consecutive CIF-SS title as the Tartans defeated visiting Santa Paula, 33-6, Friday in a Division XII East Valley first round playoff game. John Murayama rushed for 140 yards with one touchdown and Brennan Smith threw for 86 yards and scored two touchdowns for the Tartans (10-1).
The Tartans’ defense was also impressive as it shut down the Cardinal offense, who averaged 34 points a game.
The Tartans scored in the second quarter on a one yard run by Smith after a 28-yard run by Murayama. The Cardinals (6-5) scored on their next possession on a one yard run by Hayden McClain. Later in the quarter, the Tartans scored again when Smith connected with Fernando Almejo from 30 yards out for 13-6 lead.
At the start of the second half, the Tartans played with more heart and termination. Murayama took the first hand-off and rushed to the Cardinal 11 for a 40 yard gain. On the next play, Murayama scored for a 19-6 lead.
The Tartans’ defense stepped up their play when James Murayama intercepted a pass and scored from 25 yards out with 9:55 left in the third quarter. The Cardinals drove the ball to the Tartans 35 yard line just as the third quarter ended. However, the Tartans recovered a fumble by Paul Leal on the first play of the fourth quarter. John Carpenter kept the next Tartan drive alive with a couple nice catches, then Smith scored from 17 yards out. Carpenter caught four passes for 30 yards.
“We played a totally different game in the second half,” said Tartans coach Harry Welch. “We played a little flat in the first half, but made up for it after that.”
During the regular season, the Tartans allowed only eight points a game.
