Big win’s a kick for Santa Margarita

Dylan Brady, a senior kicker for Santa Margarita, experienced a first half that kickers can only dream about Thursday night in a nonleague game against Mission Hills Alemany at Laguna Hills.

Brady sent seven kickoffs flying into the end zone for touchbacks. He booted a 47-yard field goal. And on the final play of the half, he made a 55-yard field goal, with the ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing over. He finished the night going 11 for 11 on touchbacks and made seven conversion kicks.

“Thirteen points is not bad,” he said.

Santa Margarita (3-0) cruised to a 61-7 victory after opening a 48-7 halftime lead. It was another sign of the dominance of Trinity League teams this season. The league’s six teams are a combined 12-1.

And the Eagles knocked off Loyola 35-0 and now Alemany in their last two games. Both are Division 1 Mission League teams that already are facing a difficult road to the playoffs.

Sixteen of the 18 Division 1 teams make the playoffs.

With Santa Margarita and JSerra already owning wins over Alemany and Loyola, those two teams will probably have to earn an automatic berth through the Mission League by finishing in the top three spots to get in.

Coach Rich Fisher, in his second season at Santa Margarita after previously coaching 17 years in the college ranks, has an intriguing quarterback in Josiah Norwood, the Freeway League MVP last season at Fullerton Troy. He has mobility and loves to scramble. He broke off a 55-yard touchdown run in which no Alemany defender touched him. He also passed for two touchdowns.

Then there was running back Chad Magyar, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 161 yards in 13 carries.

The fourth quarter was played under a running clock. It has been a challenging opening month for second-year Alemany coach James Washington, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys. The Warriors (1-2) are trying to compete in Division 1. Receiver Jacob Perez had 11 catches for 96 yards.

As for Fisher, he’s happy with the Eagles.

“I took this job for a reason,” he said. “To coach in the Trinity League, the best in America, and against the best athletes. I hope I’m here a long time.”

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Twitter: @latsondheimer