Santa Fe Christian Eagles 38, La Jolla Country Day Torreys 13

After a tight first half at La Jolla Country Day, the Santa Fe Christian Eagles pulled away for a 38-13 win that sealed the Coastal League title.

Santa Fe Christian opened the scoring on their first drive of the game, with Conner Whitton finding Matt McRoskey on fourth down for a 32-yard touchdown pass.

The score didn’t change until the second quarter, when Torrey quarterback Braxton Burmeister connected with Casey Mariucci for a 26-yard strike down to the one-yard line. Burmeister punched it in to tie the game, and then Country Day took a 13-7 lead on a pair of Drew Schmid field goals.

But from that point on, all of the scoring would belong to the Eagles. First came a perfectly executed trick play, with Whitton pitching to McRoskey, who threw long to a wide open Caleb Phillips for a 48-yard score and a 14-13 halftime lead. And in the second half, Santa Fe steadily added on — a 39-yard field goal from Chase Bakkeby, a 60-yard run from RJ Walker, a 1-yard plunge from Whitton, and a 32-yard pass from Whitton to Phillips.

With the win, Santa Fe Christian secures a perfect 4-0 Coastal League record, and their first title since 2012.

PREVIEW: Two teams. One title. Coastal League supremacy is on the line this Friday, as the Santa Fe Christian Eagles travel to La Jolla Country Day to take on the Torreys.

The PPR will be live on the scene all night long, bringing you pregame features during the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. hours and serving up a full portion of highlights after the game.

The Eagles have won their first three Coastal League matchups by a combined score of 169-21, and a victory on Friday would clinch an undefeated league run and the outright title.

Junior Conner Whitton guides the ship from the quarterback spot, with over 1000 yards and 15 touchdowns. He helps lead the way on the ground as well — but the trademark of the Santa Fe running game is balance. Seven different Eagles have over 100 yards rushing, and nine have taken handoffs into the endzone.
Caleb Phillips leads the receiving corps with 493 yards and 4 scores, but his most eye-catching numbers are on the defensive side, where the junior linebacker has piled up 99 tackles (12.4 per game).

The Torreys come in with a 2-0 Coastal League record, with a matchup against Bishop’s still to come in the final week of the regular season.

Junior quarterback Braxton Burmeister piled up some big numbers in 2014’s contest against Santa Fe, gaining 324 yards through the air along with 92 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns — but he also completed 4 passes to Eagle defenders. Through the first eight games of 2015, Burmeister has thrown only 2 interceptions while connecting early and often with top receiving threats Casey Mariucci, David Wylie, and Brennan Goring.

Since joining the league in 2011, the Torreys have yet to post a win over the Eagles. A victory on Friday would not only break that streak, but would also clinch at least a share of their first Coastal League title.