Eagles fall to L.B. Poly

LONG BEACH Santa Margarita coach Mike Jacot smiled and shook his head at the end of his team’s 39-7 loss to Long Beach Poly in a first-round Pac-5 Division playoff game on Friday at Veterans Stadium.

“They were all over the place,” Jacot said of Poly’s defense.  The top-ranked Jackrabbits swarmed the Eagles all night, forcing six turnovers, holding them to 90 yards of offense and shutting them out until less than four minutes remained in the game. 

Poly (10-1) will play at Newport Harbor in a second-round game next Friday. The Sailors defeated Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, 7-3, on Friday.

Poly and Newport Harbor met in Week 3 of the regular season in a game that Poly won, 34-7. 

Santa Margarita, a playoff semifinalist a year ago, ended its season 5-5.

Carlo Audagnotti, the Eagles’ top ground gainer, was held to 28 yards on 20 carries. His longest gains were two six-yard carries in the game’s final minutes.

Poly led, 20-0, at halftime and extended it to 39-0 before Santa Margarita scored on a fumble recovery.

Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com