Santa Margarita's James Johnson is SBLive's Southern California Athlete of the Week (9/17/2024)

Johnson threw for five touchdowns in Santa Margarita's 42-3 victory over Liberty (Bakersfield)

Santa Margarita's depth at quarterback is the stuff of dreams for coaches, receivers, and fans.

Between longtime standout James Johnson, 3-star recruit and fellow senior John Gazzaniga, and promising sophomore Hayes Cloutier, the Eagles are abundant in strong quarterback play. The importance of which can't be overstated for one of the top-ranked teams in the state and nation playing one of the hardest schedules possible.

Through its 3-1 start, Santa Margarita has managed to get all three of its QBs reps while riding whichever proves to be the hot hand on that given day.

On Sep. 6 against CIF-Central Section powerhouse and 2022 state champion Liberty (Bakersfield), Johnson was the hot hand. And that might be an understatement. In about three quarters of work, he threw for 246 yards and five touchdowns on just 17 pass attempts, completing 11 of them (64.7-percent), to lead the Eagles to a 42-3 blowout win. As a result, fans have (overwhelmingly) voted him SBLive's Southern California Athlete of the Week for Week Two, awarding him 97-percent of the total voting.

It's easy to root for the success of Johnson, who overcame some adversity as an underclassmen to continue playing at a high level and developing.

He played in a brutally challenging situation as a sophomore at Servite, stepping in at a reigning national title contender that was almost entirely void of returners but still playing a Trinity League schedule. Servite went 1-9 that year with most of its losses coming lopsidedly, but Johnson's level of play was impressive under the circumstances.

After transferring to Santa Margarita for his junior year, Johnson got injured in the season-opener and missed most of the season. Before going down, he completed four of five passes for 57 yards in the Eagles' 28-27 victory over West (UT).

He did manage one brilliant moment before the season ended, making his return in October against none other than Servite and almost leading the team to a comeback victory in a wild 50-42 loss. Coming off the bench, he completed eight of 10 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

So far in 2024, Johnson has avoided injuries and been a big part of Santa Margarita's impressive start to the season.

Against Liberty, his top targets were Jack Junker had 132 yards and two touchdowns on just four catches, and Trent Mosley, who had six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Senior tight end Fisher Melton had Santa Margarita's other touchdown catch and also registered a pancake block.

Luke Anderson had two interceptions, including a pick-six, and Logan Hirou and Tonga Uhila each had one pick.

Following Santa Margarita's 37-17 rout of Oaks Christian on Friday, Johnson has completed 20 of 29 passes for five touchdowns to two interceptions, good for 69-percent completion and a 119.5 passer rating. He's also rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Now 3-1, Santa Margarita heads to Leuzinger (3-0) on Friday for its non-league finale. After that, the Eagles have a Week Five bye before diving right into Trinity League play against unbeaten reigning national champion Mater Dei on Oct. 4.

Meet the rest of the candidates:

Madden Williams, St. John Bosco: Williams caught seven passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's win at Sierra Canyon.

Gino Marchetti, Foothill: Marchetti had 223 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns in Thursday's win over Orange.

Koen Glover, St. Bonaventure: Glover had 202 rushing yards and five total touchdowns in Friday's win over Archbishop Riordan.

Oscar Rios, Downey: Rios had 351 passing yards and four passing touchdowns in a 69-68 win over Millikan. He also rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns.

Brandon Rivers, Cajon: Rivers rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns to help the Cowboys beat Etiwanda 30-24.

Braylin Drake, Corona Centennial: Drake rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries in Friday's win over Timpview (UT).

Isaiah Arriaza, Damien: Arriaza completed 16 of 22 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns in Friday's win over St. Paul.

Wyatt McCauley, Inglewood: McCauley had 379 passing yards and four touchdown passes in Friday's 34-21 win over Carson.

Steel Kurtz, Huntington Beach: Kurtz had seven catches for 122 yards and a touchdown and also had a pick-six in a win over Capistrano Valley.

Mikey Vazquez, Great Oak: Vazquez had 136 punt return yards, returning two punts for touchdowns against Fallbrook.

Quentin Cesaire, La Jolla Country Day: Cesaire caught 11 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown and also grabbed two interceptions against Mount Miguel.

Eli MacNeal, Carlsbad: MacNeal threw for 302 yards and had six touchdown passes in Thursday's win over San Pasqual.

Quentyn DeMara, University City: DeMara passed for 372 yards and four touchdowns and also added 102 rushing yards and a touchdown in a win over Bonita Vista.

Cody Cappelletti, Patrick Henry: Cappelletti had 190 total yards and three rushing touchdowns against Montgomery.

Jase Nix, San Marcos: Nix had 213 all-purpose yards and two touchdown receptions in a win over Mater Dei Catholic.

Ty Hurst, Poway: Hurst had 306 passing yards and four touchdown passes in a win over Valley Center.

King Demethris, Palisades: Demethris had five receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns against Granada Hills Charter.

Seth Shigg, Culver City: Shigg had 252 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a win against Narbonne.

Erik Favela, Arleta: Favela caught five passes for 172 yards and had three touchdowns in a win against Taft.

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