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Jaion Smith rushed for 127 yards and one touchdown and Logan Hirou returned an interception 25 yards for a score to help Santa Margarita defeat host JSerra 41-14 on Friday for a share of the Trinity League football championship.
Santa Margarita (7-3, 4-1) finished atop the Trinity League with Mater Dei (7-2, 4-1) and St. John Bosco (9-1, 4-1) for its first title in the league.
The Eagles’ previous league championship came in 2001 in the old Serra League with Mater Dei, St. John Bosco and Servite.
Santa Margarita led 21-0 after the first quarter and 28-6 at halftime.
Quarterback Trace Johnson helped pace the attack by completing 18 of 22 passes for 243 yards and two scores.
The Tulane commit tossed touchdowns to Ryan Clark and Jake Martin.
Defensive back Titus King and linebacker Dash Fifita recorded eight and six tackles, respectively, to lead the Eagles’ defense.
Linebacker Rocco Tompkins recorded 16 tackles for JSerra (3-7, 0-5).
Servite 30, Orange Lutheran 28: Tristin Real intercepted a pass near the Friars’ 25 with 58 seconds left at Orange Coast College to help Servite (6-4, 2-3) snap a three-year losing streak against the Lancers (2-8, 1-4) in the Trinity League.
Last season, Servite lost Orange Lutheran 38-0.
The Friars led 17-0 at halftime en route to beating the Lancers for the first time since 2021.
Orange Lutheran trimmed Servite’s lead to 30-28 on a 2-yard touchdown scramble by quarterback Reagan Toki with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter.
Servite QB Kale Murphy completed 15 of 17 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
Beckman 21, Marina 14: Sophomore Xavier Musselman-Cano had two interceptions and Noah Nam threw a touchdown and rushed for another at Tustin High as the Patriots (7-3, 5-0) clinched a second consecutive league title.
Beckman led 21-7 going into the fourth quarter.
Marina (6-4, 2-3) finished tied with Kennedy (5-5, 2-3) and Sunny Hills (6-4, 2-3) for third place in the Lambda League. The Vikings won a coin flip for the third and final automatic playoff spot in league.
Fullerton (8-2, 4-1) placed second one season after finishing 0-10.
University 35, Katella 38: The host Trojans (4-6, 2-3) survived a 21-point outburst by the Knights (3-7, 0-5) in the fourth quarter to force a three-way tie for third place in the Omicron League.
Woodbridge (2-8, 2-3) and Buena Park (5-5, 2-3) also tied for third but the Warriors won a coin flip to secure the final automatic playoff bid.
Woodbridge rallied from an 0-7 start to reach the postseason.
— Dan Albano
San Clemente 10, Edison 9: San Clemente’s defense stopped a potential game-winning 2-point conversion attempt by Edison with 24 seconds remaining in the game.
San Clemente (6-4, 2-1) finished second place in the Alpha League standings and is an automatic qualifier for the playoffs.
Carson Sloan ran for a 1-yard touchdown for San Clemente and Ethan Miller made a 36-yard field goal. Thomas Alexander had an interception and Cade Hogan had an interception on the 2-point attempt at the end of the game.
Sam Thomson threw a touchdown pass to Maddox Thomas for Edison (5-5, 0-3). Crue Bradshaw made a 22-yard field goal for the Chargers.
Huntington Beach 27, El Dorado 14: Brady Edmunds threw two touchdown passes for Huntington Beach in a road win over El Dorado.
Huntington Beach (8-2, 4-1) blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. The Oilers finished second place in the Epsilon League standings.
Alonzo Anguiano had a rushing touchdown for El Dorado (4-6, 1-4).
Bolsa Grande 10, Santiago 7: Eric Ramos made a go-ahead 36-yard field goal in the third quarter for Bolsa Grande.
Bolsa Grande (5-5, 3-2) clinched third place in the Tango League standings and is an automatic qualifier in the playoffs. Daymien Sanchez ran for a touchdown for the Matadors on the opening drive of the game.
Mario Carbajal ran for an 18-yard touchdown for Santiago (3-7, 2-3).
Saddleback 36, Magnolia 0: Saddleback routed Magnolia to win its second consecutive outright Zeta League championship.
Fabian Bravo had three touchdown runs for Saddleback (8-2, 4-0). Andre Scott threw touchdown passes to JD Zuniga and Angel Figueroa. Andrik Valenzuela had an interception for the Roadrunners.
Magnolia (3-7, 2-2) is the third place finisher in the league and will qualify for the playoffs.
— Michael Huntley