In a high school football season full of surprises, the biggest of all was a Heisman Trophy winner guiding his alma mater to a state championship on Saturday night in California’s toughest division in his rookie season of coaching.
Who had Carson Palmer and Santa Margarita on their bingo card toppling Sierra Canyon, Orange Lutheran, Corona Centennial and Corcord De La Salle in a four-game postseason stretch that left the Eagles as Southern Section Division 1 and CIF Open Division state champions?
The final piece of the puzzle was solved with Santa Margarita’s 47-13 win over De La Salle on Saturday night at Saddleback College, the ninth consecutive season a Southern California team has won California’s highest bowl game.
It’s been fruitless to think anyone was beating Santa Margarita (11-3) over the last month with a healthy Trent Mosley. Two weeks ago, he dazzled Corona Centennial in the Division 1 final with 10 catches for 292 yards. On Saturday, even though De La Salle knew what he could do, Mosley still was unstoppable. In the first half, when Santa Margarita opened a 35-7 halftime lead, Mosley had eight catches for 134 yards and touchdowns from 34 and six yards and also ran seven yards for another touchdown. He finished with 11 receptions for 183 yards.
With his underrated speed, upper-body strength and the skills to play multiple positions, Mosley has been the best player in California for weeks. Santa Margarita has been getting him the ball much more in the postseason, and opponents have had no answers for defending him.
“Mosley is incredible,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said of the USC commit. “He does some special things on the football field.”
Leki Holani of Santa Margarita was throwing down De La Salle running backs all night in the CIF state championship Open Division final.
(Craig Weston)
How Santa Margarita rose to the top with Palmer at the helm is an equally compelling tale. Palmer was hired with little coaching experience but his decision making, judgment and connections from the NFL world became clear with the all-star coaching staff he put together, none more important than retaining defensive coordinator Steve Fifita, last season’s interim coach. With nine returning defensive starters and three defensive line transfers, the Eagles had no weaknesses on a defense that repeatedly neutralized the best offensive players game after game.
Quarterbacks were pressured by a line that had Lenny Vandermade recording nine sacks in the postseason. The linebackers. led by Dash Fifita and Leki Holani, were able to move freely and make tackles with blockers preoccupied by the line. The secondary, led by sophomore star Ca’ron Williams, had the freedom to be aggressive thanks to knowing quarterbacks wouldn’t have much time to release the ball. Siua Holani closed the scoring with an interception return with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter.
De La Salle (12-1) thought it would have a chance to end Northern California’s losing streak. Santa Margarita had not seen the veer-option attack used by De La Salle. Steve Fifita even had dreams about the veer watching so much film to prepare his players. But the Eagles were ready for quarterback option plays and for power runs up the middle. And De La Salle didn’t help matters by committing four personal fouls in the first four minutes of the game. The only touchdowns for De La Salle came on touchdown runs by Jaden Jefferson after recovering Santa Margarita fumbles.
The reason Santa Margarita became so dominant over the last month was the improvement in the offense. Quarterback Trace Johnson became comfortable and injured players came back, including tight end Luke Gazzaniga, who had touchdown receptions from 20 and two yards on Saturday.
