Laguna earns win before bye

It will be a different type of game night Friday when the Laguna Beach High football team takes to Guyer Field. There will be no pads or cleats, touchdowns or tackles.

With five games already under its belt and gearing up for the final five games of the regular season, Laguna is idle this week. The Breakers wrapped up the nonleague portion of their schedule Sept. 25 at Sage Hill and earned their second win of the season by defeating the Lightning, 21-17, in the first meeting between the programs.

With no game on tap this week, Coach Ted Clarke said the Breakers will gather at Guyer Friday for a night that includes a barbecue, games, and “team bonding,” he said.

“This week has been about resting, saving our legs and gathering our collective breath,” Clarke said. “It’s also about cleaning up some of the mistakes we made in the first five weeks of the season, and that’s cleaning up things from the coaching staff on down.”

The Breakers certainly went into their bye week on an upswing.

Against Sage Hill, Laguna took a 14-0 lead 10 seconds into the second quarter. The Lightning pulled to within 14-7 at halftime, caught the Breakers at 14-14 with 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter, then took their only lead on a field goal with just over five minutes to play.

“We went up, 14-0, and the kids thought, OK, we’ve got the lead,” Clarke said. “We relaxed — and shouldn’t have, and before you know it, we were behind. But to their credit, down three, the kids took the ball down [the field], put together a drive, and scored the winning touchdown.”

Laguna took over at its own 20-yard line with 5:21 left, trailing, 17-14. The Breakers pieced together an eight-play, 80-yard scoring march that took only 2:30 and ended when senior quarterback Jack Simon scored from 28 yards out on a first-down run.

During the drive, Simon rushed four times and completed three of four pass attempts, each to junior Matt Hayes.

Sage Hill’s final possession took the Lightning down to the Laguna 28, but the Breakers defense stiffened with a six-yard loss on a run, and sack. The drive ended on a bad snap fumble on fourth down.

“It was so great to see the kids’ faces when it was over,” Clarke said. “They were amazing.

“We played well but I thought we created our own issues and kept them in the game. [Sage Hill] had two short scoring drives, one that started at our 24 after a short punt, and started another one at our 30. We had plenty of opportunities to fold our tent, but we didn’t. The kids kept fighting.”

Simon rushed 25 times for a game-high 163 yards, and threw for an additional 151 yards on 12-of-18 passing with no interceptions. He opened the scoring with a one-yard plunge in the first quarter, and hooked up with sophomore Curtis Harrison on a 61-yard touchdown pass play in the second quarter.

Hayes had six receptions for 54 yards to lead Laguna in receiving.

The Breakers out-gained the Lightning in total offense, 358-223, and didn’t commit a turnover.

Simon became only the 10th player in 81 seasons of Laguna football to surpass 3,000 career yards in total offense (rushing/passing). He ranks No. 9 in career total offense with 3,180 yards, easing past Danny Lane (1985¿87, 3,127 yards) who previously held that spot.

The win at Sage Hill was the second in the final three games of nonleague play for Laguna which improved to 2-3.

“We are about where I thought we would be,” Clarke said. “We hoped to be 3-2 at this point, but the kids have exhibited a huge amount of growth from when we started the season to now. Since Day 1, our team goal has been to qualify for CIF. I think we owe that to our seniors, and I think it’s a realistic goal.

“The best part is watching the kids as they travel this journey.”

The Breakers take the first step toward reaching their goal when they begin the second half of the season Oct. 9. That night, they play host to Costa Mesa in an Orange Coast League opener at Guyer Field.

The Mustangs won four of their five nonleague games and are ranked No. 9 this week in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll. Like Laguna, they also are idle this week.

“We’ve told the kids that the preseason is preseason, and it’s now behind us,” Clarke said. “The preseason gave us the opportunity to work the kinks out, to play at game speed. The kids worked hard, have started to figure things out, and have shown tremendous growth. It’s been exciting to watch them through this process, to make the adjustments and continue to play hard.

“As for league, we’re excited to take that next step. As we’ve told the kids, our league record is 0-0, like everyone else. We have the opportunity now to reach the goal we set at the start of the season.”

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Football Season Log (2-3)

0...Valley Christian...50

16...Bolsa Grande...12

0...Segerstrom...45

18...Westminster...28

21...Sage Hill...17

This week: Idle

Oct. 9: *Costa Mesa, 7 p.m.

Oct. 16: at *Saddleback (Segerstrom High), 7 p.m.

Oct. 23: *Estancia (homecoming), 7 p.m.

Oct. 30: at *Calvary Chapel (Ocean View High), 7 p.m.

Nov. 6: at *Godinez (Segerstrom High), 7 p.m.

(*denotes Orange Coast League game)