Football: St. Margaret's 27, Rim of the World 26

The past two seasons, St. Margaret’s has been ousted from the playoffs by Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World. On Friday, in a way that was most cruel, second-seeded St. Margaret’s got its payback.

The Tartans blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, but scored the go-ahead point in the final minute, then used a goal-line stand in the final seconds to protect its second round victory to advance to the semifinals of the Southern Section Southern Division playoffs.

St. Margaret’s will play host to third-seeded Big Bear in the semis.

Score: St. Margaret’s 27, Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World 26

Key Stats: Jamie Taylor rushed for 385 yards and four touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to power Rim of the World past the Tartans.

Pivotal Moment: Taylor scored from 15 yards midway through the third quarter for Rim of the World. The Fighting Scots, who had a PAT kick fail after its first touchdown, went for two points to try to get back the previously missed extra point. The run by Taylor was short and St. Margaret’s held on to a 14-12 lead. Extra points decided this game: Those two points would have given Rim the win.

Records: St. Margaret’s (11-1), Rim of the World (8-4)

Notes: The game was originally supposed to be at Rim of the World, but because of inclement weather, was changed to Citrus Valley High in Redlands. Don’t think that wasn’t a big advantage to St. Margaret’s. … Oscar Gomez led St. Margaret’s with 186 yards rushing,including touchdowns of 42 and 67 yards. … Rim’s Taylor scored on runs of 77, 15, 13 and 14 yards, the latter with 3:37 left in the game; with his two-point conversion, it gave Rim a 26-21 lead. … St. Margaret’s quarterback Joshua Davis rushed for 47 yards, including a 3-yard score, and passed for 96 yards, including a 21-yard completion to Tristan Walters for a touchdown with 52 seconds left. St. Margaret’s attempted a two-point conversion but Davis’ pass was incomplete. … Walters touchdown reception was his first of the season. … Taylor carried 64 yards on the ensuing possession to give Rim a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line. Rim reached the 2-yard line with 8 seconds left. With the outcome resting on the outcome of the final play, fullback Blake Decker was stopped on a run up the middle by Jake Hines, Dalan Cragun and a gang of Tartans. … St. Margaret’s led, 21-12, heading into the fourth quarter.

EAST VALLEY DIVISION 
SECOND ROUND
Top bracket
Jurupa Hills 28, Shadow Hills 0
Western Christian 35, Santa Clara 8
Bottom bracket
Big Bear 23, Citrus Valley 13
St. Margaret's 27, Rim of the World 26