Carson Palmer is building something special at Santa Margarita.
A year after Palmer coached the Eagles to a CIF-SS Division 1 title, he has his team 6-0 and just beat Mater Dei for the second straight year, following an impressive 14-7 victory on Friday night.
Palmer spoke with CBS’ Jill Painter Lopez after knocking off the Monarchs — who were ranked as the No.18 team in the nation and called his team’s victory a “complete team game.”
Santa Margarita came into the game ranked as the No.4 team in the country.
According to Dan Albano of The Orange County Register, the Eagles took the lead in the middle of the third quarter from a 4-yard touchdown pass by Palmer’s son, Fletch, to wide receiver Grant Van Raaphorst to give the game its final score.
They sealed the victory during the final seconds of the fourth quarter with an interception by freshman safety, Jayden Jack.
“Wild second half; our defense was on the field forever. They fought hard until the very end,” Palmer said. “We got after the passer that whole last drive.”
The Eagles’ defense was relentless against the Monarchs, piling up a total of seven sacks.
“It was really exciting for us; we’re 6-0 heading into our homecoming game against Servite, which is another big game for us,” Palmer said.
Success on the offensive front was limited for the Eagles, as Fletch Palmer completed 13 of 20 passes for 155 yards, but had a 34-yard completion to Van Raaporhorst that put them at the Mater Dei 11-yard line late in the second quarter.
Santa Margarita capitalized on the reception by moving near the endzone and scoring a 1-yard touchdown run by Adrian Petero.
“It was a violent, physical game. We talked about it being violent all week,” Carson Palmer said. “Offensively, we ran the ball effectively. We threw it effectively. The offensive line did a phenomenal job in the run game and the pass game. I think we only had one sack there.”
