Football: Laguna opens home slate
One week after launching its season with a big road victory, the Laguna Beach High football team opens its 2014 homestand Friday by hosting University.
Game time is 7 p.m. at Guyer Field.
Laguna took the first step in its 10-game regular season Sept. 5 by going to Garden Grove to take on host Bolsa Grande. The Breakers grabbed control of the game from the outset and went on to cruise past the Matadors, 45-12.
Laguna scored two touchdowns in its first three plays and three TDs in the first eight plays from scrimmage.
“That was a great way to get started,” Laguna Coach Corey Brown said.
“We definitely got better as the game went on. Our defensive line was physical at the point of attack and we did a good job of not getting beat deep. Offensively, we executed well at times but we fumbled five times and lost three of them.
“We threw two TD passes, rushed for scores and kicked a field goal. We scored in just about every way possible, and that was great to see.”
Senior running back Ethan Chesley scored the first Laguna touchdown of the season and the first of the game when he reached the end zone on a 34-yard run.
An 80-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Jack Simon to senior receiver Brett Tracy, followed by a 47-yard scoring run by sophomore Bruce Knill led to 21 first-quarter points for the Breakers.
Laguna went into the locker room at halftime holding a 31-12 lead after sophomore running back Nick Krantz scored on a 56-yard run and Knill kicked a 25-yard field goal in the final minute of the half.
Knill, who was six for six on point-after kicks, scored his second touchdown of the game on a 37-yard pass from Simon in the third quarter. Krantz finished the scoring with his second touchdown, a 15-yard run with 27 seconds left in the game.
Krantz paced Laguna’s 321 yards rushing attack with 109 yards on only eight carries. Knill ran five time for 83 yards, and Chesley seven times for 80 yards. Simon was four of nine passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns, and Tracy had three receptions for 112 yards.
“We shut them out in the second half, and I was proud of our defense for that,” Brown said. “That was our goal at halftime.”
Friday’s opponent, University, also began its season Sept. 5. The Trojans took advantage of an early miscue by Segerstrom to take an early lead, then went on to post a 28-6 victory.
Senior quarterback Wes Jordan was only eight of 25 for 130 yards but two of his completions went for touchdowns. Junior running back Matt Abellaneda rushed for a touchdown and also scored on a pass from Jordan.
The Trojans return 15 players from a 2-8 team in 2013, including eight on offense.
Last September, Laguna went to University and defeated the Trojans, 32-7, in the first game at University’s new stadium.
“I think they’ll be pretty balanced offensively when they play us,” Brown said. “They threw 25 times last week against Segerstrom, and that’s a lot of passes. I think they’ll run more, and they run an offense similar to ours.
“If we don’t take care of the ball, or aren’t fundamentally sound, we can be beaten on any night. We saw that University was able to beat Segerstrom that way. We need to clean up our offensive mistakes from a week ago.
“We’re excited for our home opener. There have been a lot of people working behind the scenes who are doing a great job to make sure our opener will be an enjoyable experience. We want to put on a good show.”
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Results/Schedule
Laguna Beach (1-0)
45...Bolsa Grande...12
Friday: University, 7 p.m.
Sept. 19: at Westminster
Sept. 26: St. Margaret’s
Oct. 2: at Northwood
Oct. 10: *at Costa Mesa (at Estancia High)
Oct. 17: *Saddleback (homecoming)
Oct. 24: *at Estancia
Oct. 31: *Calvary Chapel
Nov. 7: *Godinez
(*denotes league game)
Twitter: @MikeSciacca