SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Santa Margarita outlasted San Juan Hills 18-8 in a penalty-ridden high school football game Friday at San Juan Hills High.
The Eagles committed 14 penalties for 125 yards which stalled multiple drives.
Santa Margarita (1-0) did not score a touchdown until the fourth quarter. San Juan Hills (0-1) had a snap sail over the punter’s head and the Eagles took over possession on the San Juan Hills 10-yard line.
San Juan Hills players carry American flags as they take the field for their season opener against Santa Margarita on Military Appreciation Night on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita wide receiver Emmett Mosley carries the ball during a nonleague game at San Juan Hills High School on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
San Juan Hills quarterback Michael Tollefson throws the ball during a nonleague game against Santa Margarita on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita quarterback Jaxon Potter throws the ball during a nonleague game against San Juan Hills on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
San Juan Hills running back Sullivan Land carries the ball during the Stallions’ season-opening nonleague game against Santa Margarita on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita quarterback Jaxon Potter throws the ball during a nonleague game against San Juan Hills on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita receiver Nicholas Lopez leaps for a deep pass during the team’s season opener against San Juan Hills on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
San Juan Hills running back Sullivan Land carries the ball during the Stallions’ season-opening nonleague game against Santa Margarita on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
San Juan Hills student Jacob Verde carries smoke bombs as the Stallions take the field for their home game season opener against Santa Margarita on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
San Juan Hills students cheer on the Stallions during their season-opening home game against Santa Margarita on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
San Juan Hills quarterback Michael Tollefson carries the ball on a quarterback keeper play during the Stallions’ nonleague season opener against Santa Margarita on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita running back Lee Fuimaono breaks a tackle as he carries the ball during a nonleague game at San Juan Hills High School on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita students cheer on the Eagles during the season opener at San Juan Hills High School on Friday night, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita quarterback Jaxon Potter throws the ball during a nonleague game against San Juan Hills on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita wide receiver Emmett Mosley carries the ball during a nonleague game against San Juan Hills on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita wide receiver Emmett Mosley carries the ball during a nonleague game at San Juan Hills High School on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
San Juan Hills students cheer on the Stallions during their season-opening home game against Santa Margarita on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita wide receiver Bain Eisman can’t quite hold onto a pass during Friday’s nonleague game against San Juan Hills on August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Santa Margarita wide receiver Bain Eisman makes a catch at the one-yard-line during a nonleague game at San Juan Hills High School on Friday night, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
San Juan Hills quarterback Michael Tollefson carries the ball on a quarterback keeper play during the Stallions’ nonleague season opener against Santa Margarita on Friday, August 19, 2022. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
Quarterback Jaxon Potter capped the two-play scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles an 11-0 lead early in the fourth.
San Juan Hills did not give up despite being held to under 70 yards of offense in the first three quarters. Michael “Butter” Tollefson threw a 40-yard screen pass to Colton Chase to set up a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Bockler.
Sullivan Land converted the 2-point attempt on a run to cut Santa Margarita’s lead to 11-8 with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.
The Eagles responded with a scoring drive to put the game away. Potter scrambled and threw a 36-yard pass to Colorado State commit Niko Lopez to put the Eagles in the red zone.
Two plays later, Potter threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Servite transfer Emmett Mosley to give Santa Margarita an 18-8 lead.
Potter, an Alabama-Birmingham commit, completed 13 of 21 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown. Mosley caught nine passes for 95 yards with a touchdown.
Lopez had two of the biggest catches of the game for the Eagles and finished with 71 yards on two catches.
Santa Margarita’s defense made it difficult for San Juan Hills to move the ball. The Eagles had five sacks with Ben Durham leading the way with two. Michigan commit Collins Acheampong added a sack and so did LeVar Talley and Noah Sulick.
The Eagles held Tollefson, a highly-touted sophomore, to just 83 yards passing on six completions. Tollefson was the leading rusher for San Juan Hills with 53 yards on 15 carries.
Talley, Jacob Bower and Chris Furlong had multiple tackles for a loss for Santa Margarita.
Blake Wilson had an interception for Santa Margarita in the second quarter, which set up a 42-yard field goal by Mason Schuster to give the Eagles a 5-0 lead.
The Eagles scored early in the first quarter on a safety when the San Juan Hills punter bobbled the ball in its own endzone and was brought down by a host of Eagles tacklers led by Durham.
Weston Port and Jake Javorsky each had tackles for a loss for San Juan Hills.
Santa Margarita will host Norco at Saddleback College on Friday, Aug. 26.
San Juan Hills will play Cypress at Western High on Thursday, Aug. 25.
