Breakers launch assault on school record books

It was one of those rare victories for the Laguna Beach football team on Oct. 17. The bench was all but was cleared, the lights flickered rapidly as the numbers continually changed under the “Home” heading on the Guyer Field scoreboard and the Breakers were in complete control of things from start to finish.

A 61-6 Orange Coast League victory over Godinez, a first-year varsity program with a roster made up of underclassmen, afforded the Breakers many things, including an assault on the program’s record book.

The 61 points were the second-most scored by a Laguna team, trailing only the 70-0 win over San Juan Capistrano (now San Clemente) in 1945. The 55-point margin of victory was the second-widest behind that 70-point shutout win in ’45. The 28 points scored in the third quarter tied for fourth-most in a single quarter and the 35 second-half points also tied for the fourth-best scoring production in that half.

John Snedegar’s seven point-after touchdown conversions tied a school record that he now shares with Leslie Weldon (set in a 1977 game against Dana Hills) and Damon Berryhill (1980, vs. Mayfair).

The win also was the biggest by a Laguna team over a team without a senior on its roster. The previous most one-sided outcome was a 54-7 win in 1967 over Mission Viejo.

But for all the superlatives, not everything was completely rosy.

“We came out and executed well at the start, but we got sloppy with penalties and missed blocking assignments in the second quarter,” Laguna Coach Jonathan Todd said.

“We told the kids at half time that they were letting up. Not that we wanted to pile it on or anything like that, but there was a lot of football left to be played and we wanted the kids to come out fired up for the second half and give it their all. And the kids responded.”

Laguna went from a 26-6 halftime lead to a 35-0 shutout in the final 24 minutes.

Among many Breakers who saw action were seven linemen and a couple of players from the frosh/soph team.

“Our offense in the second half just started to click, and that’s where we need to be every game,” Todd said. “I’ve never had that type of ‘problem’ before, where everything was working. It was different to have the game in control, really, by halftime.

Zach Smith rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries. Snedegar ran eight times for 85 and a score, Alec Jaffe gained 61 yards and a score on six touches and Austin Paxson threw for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with 149 of those yards and both scoring receptions going to Chris Paul.

Jeremy Kaplan and Rouzbeh Kazemian both also rushed for a touchdown.

“I thought Zach Smith just had a great game and was fantastic out there,” Todd said. “Mitch McMullin was all over the place and Kyle Jenkins had some big tackles on kickoffs and punt returns. Our defense was really hitting.”

One of the key defensive plays, one in which Jaffe made a jarring hit of a Godinez receiver, came when Snedegar snagged a tipped pass in mid-air and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.

“We were really physical last week “” and physical on offense, too “” and we need to continue playing at that level in these final three weeks of league play. That will be very important from here on out.”

Ethan Quirate averaged 36 yards on four punts.

Laguna took on Calvary Chapel on Thursday night at Orange Coast College, but the score wasn’t available at press time. The Breakers are idle next week and have a Nov. 7 home game against Estancia and Nov. 14 road game against Costa Mesa at Estancia High left on the regular season schedule.