LAGUNA HILLS — Evan Haynes had his hand in the right place at the right time not just once, but twice.
Haynes blocked a field goal on the first series of the game and the defensive lineman blocked a point-after attempt with about 2 1/2 minutes remaining, helping Laguna Hills hold on for a 31-30 victory against visiting St. Margaret’s in the final nonleague tune-up for both teams Friday night.
“We were reviewing film all week,” Haynes said. “It really helped. It kind of showed a weakness there, where there was a gap open.”
St. Margaret’s quarterback Kai Letcher threw the ball 60 times, completing 39 passes for 414 yards and three touchdowns.
St. Margaret’s (3-2) erased an early 14-0 deficit to lead 21-14 at the half, and the Tartans fell behind again, 31-21, before pulling within a point with 2:32 left following a 4-yard touchdown catch by Sam Orellana.
St. Margaret’s initially kept its offense on the field, but after a delay of game penalty, the Tartans elected to try the point-after and Haynes swatted it away.
“Exploited the weaknesses,” Hayes said. “It was a great game.”
St. Margaret’s got the ball back once more with 1:22 left, but ran out of time after Jack Kleinhanzl made a catch at the Laguna Hills 26.
“Did a good job of finishing the game,” Laguna Hills coach John Lester said. “It was tough to overcome four pass interference calls. Our kids had great defensive positioning on all four plays. Just kept bailing them out and bailing them out and bailing them out.”
The Hawks (3-2) blocked a 42-yard field goal by St. Margaret’s on the opening drive of the game. Laguna Hills then marched down the field and took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Khryztopher Entrala.
A 28-yard reception by Hawks receiver Andrew Austin put the ball at the St. Margaret’s 10-yard line and Laguna Hills scored on the next play on a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jaxson Vanderbeek to make it 14-0 with 8:36 left in the first half.
The Tartans fortunes began to change after a spectacular one-handed catch diving by Kleinhanzl that covered 29 yards and put the ball at the Laguna Hills 24-yard line.
St. Margaret’s then moved the ball into the red zone and scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Letcher to Jack Klausner to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 7:00 left in the half.
St. Margaret’s defense then made the play of the game when Graham Holcomb intercepted a screen pass and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown, tying the score at 14-14 with 6:16 remaining in the half.
The Tartans quickly got the ball back and Letcher found Klausner over the middle for a 60-yard touchdown pass, moving St. Margaret’s ahead 21-14 with 1:51 left in the half.
Entrala scored on a 3-yard run to cap the opening drive of the second half and tie the score, 21-21. Vanderbeek scored on a 1-yard sneak to move the Hawks ahead 28-21 with 7:20 left in the third quarter, and Nathaniel Mammen booted a 39-yard field goal to extend the lead to 31-21 later in the third quarter.
“Did a good job at halftime just settling the guys down,” Lester said. “It’s tough when you had a 14-point lead and then all of a sudden you let them back in it, and you let them take the lead.”