PHOTOS: Santa Margarita completes the mission, cruises past De La Salle for CIF state title

Santa Margarita players pose with the CIF state trophy following the victory Saturday night. (PHOTOS: Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone).

For the first time since 2011 Santa Margarita High School is once again on top of the California high school football world.

The Eagles (11-3) dominated from the opening kickoff and cruised to a 47-13 victory over De La Salle of Concord in the CIF Open Division State Championship Saturday night at Saddleback College.

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The Santa Margarita duo of quarterback Trace Johnson and Trent Mosley were unstoppable. Johnson completed 17 of 20 passes for 247 yards and four touchdowns and Mosley caught 11 passes for 183 yards and scored two TDs to lead the Eagles, who won their sixth consecutive game.

“This isn’t a one-man team, it takes every player, every backup, every coach to get to where we are,” said Johnson, a Tulane commit, who has thrown for 2,775 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. “Coach Palmer told us in August that it counts how you’re playing games in November and December.”

The Spartans (12-1) simply did not have an answer for the speedster, Mosley.

“It’s amazing to win a state title, especially in my senior year,” said Mosley, a USC commit, who had 160 yards after he caught the ball. “It’s a great way to end the season.” 

Santa Margarita earned its third state championship. The Eagles won a Division II state championship in 1997 and a Division I championship in 2011. 

“We always want to start games off with our defense because they’re so suffocating,” said Eagles Coach Carson Palmer. “And as each week went by our offense continued to improve and for the last month and one-half we have played good football against some very good teams.”

De La Salle won a record seven state championships and was attempting to win its first state championship since 2015.   

Santa Margarita’s offense wasted no time shifting into high gear to start the game. The Eagles scored on five of six first-half possessions and three of the scoring drives lasted less than one minute.     

Santa Margarita took its opening possession of the game and promptly marched 66 yards in five plays, needing only 58 seconds, to take the early lead. Mosley raced into the end zone from seven yards to cap the drive.

After the Spartans had a field goal attempt blocked, the Eagles needed only 59 seconds to up its lead to 13-0. Mosley caught a short pass from Johnson, broke several tackles, and outran several defenders for a 34-yard touchdown. Later in the quarter, Johnson tossed a 20-yard TD pass to Luke Gazzaniga as the Eagles extended its lead to 19-0 with 42 second left in the first quarter.

The Spartans got on the board, capitalizing on a Santa Margarita turnover, mid-way through the second quarter. Jaden Jefferson scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 19-7.

However, the Eagles added two more touchdowns in the final 3:31 of the half to take a commanding 35-7 lead at the break. Jaion Smith scored on a 16-yard TD run and Mosley took a shovel pass from Johnson and scored from six yards as Santa Margarita went into the locker room with soaring momentum.

Eagles running backs Adrian Petero and Smith combined to rush for a combined 141 yards and a touchdown as De La Salle struggled stop the Santa Margarita attack. The Eagles outgained the Spartans 377-180 yards in the game.

The Santa Margarita defense, led by Leki Holani, Logan Hirou, Dash Fifita and Ivrick Carrigan, limited the high-powered De La Salle offense to 78 yards rushing in the game. The Spartans entered the game averaging nearly 300 yards on the ground per game. De La Salle converted only three of 12 third down attempts.  

The teams traded touchdowns in the second half and then late in the game Santa Margarita defensive back Siua Holani returned an interception 47 yards to cap off the Eagles’ scoring.

“The key was to stop their run and we did that,” said linebacker Leki Holani, a Sacramento State commit.

“It’s amazing to be state champions,” said Fifita. “I think our team started building momentum this season when we stopped Mission Viejo on a goal line stance. Then when we beat Mater Dei and we really started to believe in ourselves.”   

De La Salle Coach Justin Alumbaugh credited Santa Margarita.

“Santa Margarita posed a lot of challenges for us, Alumbaugh said. “Their offensive line is great, as is their quarterback, Trace Johnson, and receiver, Trent Mosely, and their defense was unbelievable. Our team tonight wasn’t the team we have been all season, but give credit to Santa Margarita, they earned it.”  

Notes:

—Carson Palmer retired from the NFL in 2018. He threw for 46,267 yards and 294 TDs. Palmer is the first quarterback ever to throw for 4,000 yards for three different teams (Cincinnati, Oakland, and Arizona). He won the Heisman Trophy in 2002 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021. Palmer led Santa Margarita to CIF championships in 1996 and 1997. His son, Fletch, is a backup sophomore quarterback on the Eagles’ team.

“There wasn’t one game or play that changed our season around,” Palmer said. “Over the past month and a half, we’ve been playing good teams, and we’ve been beating them. It’s been a progression.”

—In Palmer’s NFL rookie season, he didn’t take one snap all season. “It was tough to sit all season, especially when you’re used to playing all the time. I didn’t get into one game my rookie year, but it was part of the process.”

—De La Salle has won 33 consecutive North Coast Titles. Prior to Saturday, the Spartans had won 10 of its 12 games this season by double digits. De La Salle is 7-11 in championship games. The Spartans hold a sports record of 151 consecutive wins from 1992 – 2004.

—Maurice Drew-Jones, a former De La Salle, and UCLA running back, is an assistant coach on the Spartans staff. He played in the NFL for nine years for Jacksonville and Okland and rushed for 8,167 yards and scored 68 touchdowns and was a three-time Pro Bowler. His son, Deuce Jones-Drew, is a sophomore running back for the Spartans and rushed for 463 yards and scored 7 touchdowns this season.

“What makes De La Salle so special is not just football,” he said. “It’s the little things like team meetings, team dinners, the bond that these guys build is what makes out program special.” About playing in Jacksonville while in the NFL. “The people were great, but I’m used to a faster pace of life in LA and San Francisco. Jacksonville was a lot slower.”  

—-Dr. Charlie Preston is the team doctor for De La Salle football team. Preston is an Irvine High School graduate (class of 1989) and UC Irvine graduate. He played on the Irvine football team with current Vaqueros’ coach Tom Ricci under Coach Terry Henigan. Preston, who graduated from medical school from NYU, is an Orthopedic Surgeon and practices in Walnut, California. He has been the Spartans team doctor for 17 years.  

—Thom Simmons, CIF Assistant Commissioner, told OCSZ prior to Saturday’s championship game that this is his 29^th football championship game he’s been involved with.

—Santa Margarita High student Siena Bernard sang an outstanding rendition of the National Anthem.