Improbable comeback sends Laguna Beach football over Northwood
The way Laguna Beach High football coach John Shanahan tells the story, Ethan Das was simply looking to dip a toe in the water when he approached him about trying a new sport.
Das was expected to do little more than throw passes at practice, but fortunes change quickly in football. An injury at the quarterback position in the Breakers’ season opener in Idaho has Das — a diver — doing far more than standing on the sidelines.
Laguna Beach rallied from 17-point deficits twice in the second half on Friday, notching a riveting 35-31 victory over visiting Northwood for the Breakers’ first win of the season.
Das placed eighth in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 diving championships at Santa Margarita High as a freshman. The junior shouldered a heavy load for the Breakers against the Timberwolves, dropping back to pass nearly 50 times.
After scoring 21 unanswered points to erase a 31-14 deficit over the final 14 minutes, the Breakers celebrated on their home field when Nick Rogers converted a short fourth-down carry to run out the clock.
“There’s nothing like it, knowing that we won the game,” Das said of celebrating with his teammates. “We literally won the game after nobody believed we would win. We looked out in the stands, saw people leaving — it killed me. Killed me.
“Twenty-four minutes later, we won the game, and it was just so worth it for everything I’ve done.”
Das said receiving the first-team reps in practice instilled a sense of responsibility to go out and win the game. The mission certainly came with its challenges, as he threw four interceptions. Two of those came on the Breakers’ first two drives, and the fourth was returned 59 yards by Adam Harper to re-establish the three-score lead for Northwood at 31-14 midway through the third quarter.
But on the next possession for Laguna Beach (1-2), the Breakers went for it all on a fourth-down play in their own territory, and Jackson Rodriguez made the catch and took it in for a 60-yard touchdown.
Rodriguez made 10 receptions for 157 yards and three touchdowns, making several plays when his team most needed them. He made an over-the-shoulder grab to put the Breakers on the scoreboard with 10 seconds left in the first half.
Early in the fourth quarter, Rodriguez took a hit that looked like it might knock him out of the game. Rodriguez returned to throw a downfield block for Ryner Swanson on a shallow crossing route that went for 21 yards, and then Das put a short pass on him for his third score of the night.
“I had bruised my rib two weeks ago in our game in Idaho, and [Northwood’s] safety … had come in and hit me with the crown of his helmet right in that rib,” Rodriguez said. “I was just worried that it was broken and I’d punctured my lung because I couldn’t breathe.
“Our trainer checked me out … and said I was all good, so I was like, ‘All right. I got to get back out there. I got to keep playing. I got to finish the game.”
Laguna Beach did not show much balance offensively, but Rogers turned his 10 carries into 122 yards. He took the first play from scrimmage coming out of halftime for a 65-yard rushing touchdown. Northwood’s lead was down to 17-14 at that point.
The Breakers were able to make big gains in the running game despite it accounting for a low percentage of the team’s offensive plays. Shanahan likened it to pitching backwards in baseball.
“You’re just trying to throw that off-speed pitch at the right time and hope it pops,” Shanahan said. “It popped twice big for Nick. Then on the final play, when he was physical and finished the run and got the first down to end it, it was awesome.”
Rogers’ dash down the left end for a 46-yard touchdown with 3:54 remaining gave Laguna Beach its first lead of the night — the only one the Breakers needed.
“Coach just said, ‘You got to keep fighting,’” Rogers said. “They wanted it more in the first half. We had to want it more in the second half. We had to keep fighting. Even though we were down by a bit, we had to clutch up.”
Gavin Zaengle had an interception on defense to start the fourth quarter for Laguna Beach, which travels to take on Capistrano Valley Christian (2-0) on Sept. 9.
Eugene Miyata threw three touchdowns for Northwood (2-1), the reigning CIF Division 11 champions. Ahmad Kazi, Andrew Penrod and Joseph Harper were on the receiving end of those scores.
Ryan Kesler also had two interceptions defensively for the Timberwolves.
Nonleague
Laguna Beach 35, Northwood 31
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Northwood 10 – 7 – 14 – 0 — 31
Laguna Beach 0 – 7 – 13 – 15 — 35
FIRST QUARTER
N — Kazi 7 pass from Miyata (Yowkeem kick), 7:12.
N — Yowkeem 35 FG, 4:40.
SECOND QUARTER
N — Penrod 31 pass from Miyata (Yowkeem kick), 2:31.
LB — Rodriguez 11 pass from Das (Rodriguez kick), 0:10.
THIRD QUARTER
LB — Rogers 65 run (Rodriguez kick), 11:44.
N — J. Harper 7 pass from Miyata (Yowkeem kick), 10:04.
N — A. Harper 59 interception return (Yowkeem kick), 5:29.
LB — Rodriguez 60 pass from Das (Rodriguez kick blocked), 1:39.
FOURTH QUARTER
LB — Rodriguez 4 pass from Das (Rodriguez pass from Das), 7:59.
LB — Rogers 46 run (Rodriguez kick), 3:54.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
N — A. Harper, 10-69.
LB — Rogers, 10-122, 2 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
N — Miyata, 8-15-1, 119, 3 TDs.
LB — Das, 24-46-4, 279, 3 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
N — Penrod, 4-83, 1 TD.
LB — Rodriguez, 10-157, 3 TDs.
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