No cakewalk this week
A good week of practice paid big dividends for the Laguna Beach High football team against John Glenn.
The Breakers were at it again this week, Coach Mike Churchill said, stringing together several days of solid preparation in an effort to be at their best for a key nonleague game Friday.
Laguna hosts St. Margaret’s in a 7 p.m. nonleague clash at Guyer Field. The Breakers (2-0-1) enter the game ranked fifth in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division. The Tartans (3-0) are No. 5 in the East Valley Division.
“I saw them play last Friday night, and they’re a very good football team,” Churchill said of the Tartans. “They are very quick, have an excellent quarterback and have smart players. As good as they are on offense, they do quite a few really good things on defense, too.”
St. Margaret’s picked up its third win last week by defeating Whittier Christian, 35-7. Quarterback Josh Davis threw for 150 yards, with touchdown passes to Andrew Torok and Scott McGowan. Chase McClure rushed for a score, Oscar Gomez racked up a game-high 132 rushing yards and the Tartans’ special teams scored when Winston Robinson returned a fumble for a touchdown and Torok had a punt return for a TD.
In three games, the Tartans’ defense has allowed only three touchdowns. Their offense is averaging 34 points a game.
Like St. Margaret’s, Laguna is coming off quite a week of its own.
Laguna continued to rewrite the school record book in last week’s 74-19 win over John Glenn. The Breakers set single-game marks for points and longest run from scrimmage (95 yards, Drake Martinez). They also tied the record for first-half points scored (55), touchdowns in a game (11), and conversion kicks (eight).
The game used a running clock in the second half. It’s the second time in three games for the Breakers where a running clock was used after halftime. The first instance came in their Aug. 31 opener at Bolsa Grande, a 62-14 victory.
“We scored five different ways without taking a snap,” Churchill said. “The kids have stepped things up since the (University) game (a 36-36 tie Sept. 7). They gave some things away at the end of that game and felt they should have won the game. They worked hard in practice last week and have had some real good practices this week, as well.
“I thought Drake was outstanding. He did a lot of good things, including running across the field from the other side to pick up a loose ball on a punt by them and return it for a touchdown. That’s just the kind of thing Drake does. I also thought that Robert Clemons played his best defensive game yet.”
In addition to his 95-yard scoring run, Martinez scored on a 36-yard punt return and 15-yard run and finished with 138 rushing yards on six carries. Lancaster scored on runs of 49 and eight yards, and on a 74-yard punt return, and Clemons scored on runs of 14 and 21 yards. The Laguna defense also figured prominently in the scoring act: Andres DelaRosa scored on a 36-yard interception return, Jake Hexburg on a 35-yard interception and Graves on a 63-yard fumble return.
The Breakers led, 55-0, at the half.
*
Food Festival returns Friday
Prior to the start of Friday’s game, the school will host the Laguna Breakers Food Festival, starting at 5:30 p.m. on the track at Guyer Field. Churchill said that several food trucks will serve up culinary fare and that admission to Friday’s game is free with the purchase of food prior to 6 p.m.
Churchill said that the festival’s debut before the University game Sept. 7 was a success, and that the Food Festival will be held prior to the start of each Laguna home game.
Twitter: @MikeSciacca