No. 41 is a big one for St. Margaret's

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - St. Margaret's football coach Harry Welch wanted the last cheer to be heard.

"Really big," Welch told his players. "You were great tonight."

The Tartans tied Mission  Viejo's Orange County-record 41-game winning streak in impressive fashion Friday  night by defeating a one-loss Maranatha of Pasadena team with a Division I-A  recruit at quarterback, 63-0, in an East Valley Division semifinal at St.  Margaret's.

St. Margaret's (13-0) will  play the winner of today's Fillmore-Twentynine Palms game in the final next  Saturday. The Tartans will be seeking a third consecutive section title and  could stand alone in Orange County for consecutive victories.

They also could be  auditioning for a berth in the first state small-school bowl game Dec. 19 at  The Home Depot Center in Carson.

"On a given night, we can  play," Welch said of team, ranked No. 1 in the South small-school division  rankings by CalHiSports.com. "We can't do it every week, but on some nights can  play good football.

"People who say that we  can't are just wrong. There are a lot of teams that wouldn't want to play us when we're playing well."

The St. Margaret's defense  certainly made things tough on Maranatha quarterback Matt Schilz. Defensive tackle Jeremy Baileys had two of the Tartans' four sacks, and cornerbacks Alex Brolick and Conner  Edgcomb each had interceptions.

Schilz finished 21 of 38  for 200 yards.

Welch said pregame  comments made by Schilz inspired his team. The coach read an article that quoted Schilz talking about St.  Margaret's.

Of the Tartans, Schilz  said, "I've seen them on the film. Nothing special."

"I'm going to save it as a  memento," Welch said of the article, which he kept in his pocket.

The St. Margaret's defense  also shut down Maranatha's running game. The Minutemen (11-2) finished with 28  yards.

St. Margaret's offense  racked up 308 yards and six touchdowns on the ground behind an offensive line  that included Chase Smith, Connor McClure, Mack Santora, Jeff Askin and Colfax Selby.

Freshman running back Matthew Duenes rushed for a season-high 192 yards and four touchdowns to pace  the Tartans.

Quarterback David Mothander also ran for two scores.

Duenes again played for John Murayama, who has been slowed by a  hamstring injury.

"Duenes was at about 60  percent (because of a quad)," Welch said. "And I anticipate that Murayama will  be all right, so we may be getting healthy at the right time."

Murayama made his first appearance of the playoffs but played sparingly.

Brolic also sparked the Tartans’ special teams. The senior broke a 67-yard punt return in the final 30 seconds half to give St. Margaret’s the ball at Maranatha’s 9. On the next play, Mothander threw a touchdown pass to Travis Anderson.

“We’re 13-0 and we’re 41-0,” Welch said. “Pretty special.”

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com