Carson Palmer leads No.1 Santa Margarita to mark program last saw with him at QB

Carson Palmer leads No.1 Santa Margarita to mark program last saw with him at QB.

Key points

• In 2002, Palmer won the Heisman Trophy and he was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the first pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.
• Palmer finished his career at Santa Margarita with 4, 279 passing yards and 50 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions.
• 1 team in the Super 25 rankings, closed out the regular season with a 43-21 road win over Orange Lutheran (CA).
• Before he was winning the Heisman Trophy at USC or having a long NFL career, Palmer was a star for the Eagles in the mid-late 1990's.
• Santa Margarita High School's football team finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record.

Carson Palmer leads No.1 Santa Margarita to mark program last saw with him at QB. Joseph Spears USA TODAY High School Sports. Santa Margarita Coach Carson Palmer on how his son earned QB1.

For context, the former NFL QB is rebuilding his alma mater's young team with NFL philosophies.

When current head coach Carson Palmer was the quarterback, this is the program's first undefeated regular season since 1997.

Palmer, a former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback, led the Eagles to a state championship in his first year as coach.

As chaos has reigned supreme over the high school football landscape throughout the season, Santa Margarita (CA) has managed to navigate those muddy waters into what's been the best season for the program in recent memory.

On Friday night the Eagles, the No. 1 team in the Super 25 rankings, closed out the regular season with a 43-21 road win over Orange Lutheran (CA). The win wasn't just another win continued on for the Rancho Santa Margarita program's elite resume but one that secured a 10-0 finish to the regular season.

That's a mark that the program hasn't seen in almost 30 years – and, ironically, a mark that was last accomplished when the Eagles' head coach and former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer was a senior back in 1997.

Before he was winning the Heisman Trophy at USC or having a long NFL career, Palmer was a star for the Eagles in the mid-late 1990's. He became the program's starting quarterback in 1996 and led the Eagles to CIF-SS Division V championships in 1996 and 1997.

His senior season would go down as arguably the best in school history as the Eagles went 14-0 and won the California state championship. That season he completed 63% of his passes for 1, 295 yards and 26 touchdowns to just four interceptions.

Palmer finished his career at Santa Margarita with 4, 279 passing yards and 50 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions. With Palmer under center, the Eagles went 40-2-1.

In 2002, Palmer won the Heisman Trophy and he was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the first pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. He'd go on to spend 15 seasons in the NFL, passing for 46, 247 yards and 294 touchdowns.

Palmer was confirmed as Santa Margarita's next head coach in December 2024. In his first year with the program, the Eagles went 11-3 and won a state championship.

With the former star now leading the way, they enter the postseason looking to defend that title after going unbeaten in California's prestigious Trinity League. The pairings for this year's state tournament will be confirmed on Sunday, Nov. 1.

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Taken together, the developments around carson Palmer leads No.1 Santa Margarita to mark program last saw with point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.