Eagles’ Palmer Makes Debut With Victory

Santa Margarita quarterback Carson Palmer made his season debut by completing six of nine passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles’ 52-0 win over Las Vegas Durango in front of 1,200.

The Eagles (2-0), ranked No. 2 in the county, got 542 yards total offense and tied a school record with their 13th straight win.

Palmer’s first completion of the season was to Greg Orlando in the second quarter, and it set up a 30-yard touchdown run by Bryant Wolfsberger, which made the score 17-0 after Nick Sparks’ extra point. Wolfsberger, who ran for 191 yards in 16 carriers, also scored a touchdown on a five-yard run earlier in the quarter. He also blocked a field-goal attempt by Andrew Schneider in the quarter. .

Palmer, who passed for 2,084 yards and 24 touchdowns last year, is the top quarterback prospect in the county. He missed the first game of the season against Trabuco Hills because of a foot injury, and played only one quarter, but managed to throw two touchdown passes in a 1-minute, 40-second span late in the second quarter.

One of those touchdown passes was to John Minardi for 20 yards and the other was a 45-yard strike to Orlando, which gave the Eagles a 31-0 halftime lead after Sparks’ kick.