ESCONDIDO –
What was supposed to be a clash of different offensive philosophies turned from a game to defeat in the first half.
Santa Fe Christian, who prefers to control the pace with his Wing-T running offensive, did just that.
But the Eagles’ defense kept Orange Glen’s powerful passing attack at bay throughout the game, pestering quarterback Dennis Andrew with six sacks in a 50-14 win on Friday night to spoil Orange Glen’s Senior Night by winning the Coastal League championship.
It is the Eagles’ first league crown since 2016.
“We thought we were going to be 8-2 this season, but when we were three teams behind us there was a glimmer of how good we could be,” said Eagles coach Jon Wallace. “The kids were hot all week because they didn’t want to repeat last spring’s game against OG.”
Santa Fe Christian outlasted Orange Glen 81-54 in the spring season.
Thanks to five quarterback sacks in the first half, Santa Fe Christian, the team in 8th place in the San Diego Section, now 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the league, was 50-7 at halftime.
Quarterback Thomas Greupner, who had three TD passes in the 81-54 win against Orange Glen in the spring season shortened by the coronavirus, started the scoring with two TD throws against Zachary Marshall.
Marshall also returned an interception of 45 yards for a TD.
“It’s great to be champions of the league,” said Greupner. “That was one of our goals this year – to win Coastal, win CIF, and whatever comes after that.
“Our boys all came out to play tonight. We thought they could score but we thought we could score more goals.
“We’re even more scary because of what our boys are doing now in defense.”
Colton Lehberg, who also kicked six conversions, stormed to two touchdowns in the first half and Matthew Sanford and Dante Rotchford also ran for points before the break.
The defense did the rest, forcing Orange Glen into a passing game by narrowing their receiving corps to Malachi Keels, who caught seven passes for 143 yards and the final touchdown of the game.
“I was really nervous when I got into the game,” said Nate Clifford, who had the first defensive end of the freshman who had three of the Eagles’ six sacks. “After the second game, when I fired the quarterback, I calmed down a lot.
“I wasn’t nervous for the rest of the night.”
Santa Fe Christian accumulated a total of 319 yards in the first half while defense slowed the Patriots, who gained only 18 yards.
The Eagles, who have a 6-1 lead over Orange Glen (5-3, 4-1) in the series, have outperformed their opponents 369-122 this season.
Santa Fe Christian ends the regular season next week against Tri-City Christian.
Orange Glen was looking for its first league championship since 1995, when the Patriots were 10-2 overall for coach Rob Gilster and 7-0 in the Palomar League.
Monahan is a freelance writer.
Coastal League
Santa Fe Christian 50, Orange Glen 14
Santa Fe Christ 21 29 0 0 – 50
Orange Glen 7 0 0 7-14
SFC – Marshall 50 Pass from Greupner (Lehberg-Kick)
SFC – Marshall 23 Pass from Greupner (Lehberg-Kick)
OG – Castro 19 pass from Andrew (Reyes kick)
SFC – Lehberg 3rd run (Lehberg kick)
SFC – Lehberg 9 run (Lehberg Kick)
SFC – Sanford 16 run (Lehberg kick)
SFC – Rotchford 8 run (Lehberg-Kick)
SFC – Marshall 45 Interception Return (Greupner Pass to Rotchford)
OG – Keels 42 Pass by Andrew (Reyes Kick)
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