ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: PREP EXTRA : GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE : Pacifica Rolls Past La Quinta, 49-0, to Nail Down Title

It was a game of milestones Thursday night at Bolsa Grande High, as Pacifica closed out the regular season with a 49-0 victory over La Quinta.

--Mariner Coach Bill Craven collected his 150th victory at Pacifica.

--The Mariners (7-1-2, 5-0-1) locked up their 11th league title in his 20-year tenure with the victory Thursday.

--Junior quarterback J.D. Stern threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns, breaking a school record for passing yardage in a game and tying a record for touchdown passes. Both records were previously held by Mariner assistant coach Bob Anderson, who helped Pacifica to its last league championship in 1989.

--Junior tight end Geoff Gilpin grabbed four passes for 109 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown strike from Stern. Gilpin has a school-record 630 receiving yards this season.

The Mariners weren’t perfect, though. They were flagged for 111 yards in penalties, and their running game suffered from the absence of Chase Hamm, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week. Pacifica led 12-0 late in the first half before a late touchdown made the score 20-0 before the intermission. After the break, Pacifica was nearly flawless, scoring on four consecutive possessions to put the game away.

“We’re still a little banged up,” Craven said after the game. “We dropped a touchdown pass, and threw an interception--we did some things that hurt us early.

“Without Chase, we’ll have to throw a little more. But I was real pleased with what J.D. did tonight. About 85% of the time, I thought he did a great job.”

Pacifica will open the Southern Section Division VII playoffs at home next Friday. Pairings will be announced Sunday.