Laguna looks to bounce back

One week after coming oh-so-close to winning its Orange Coast League opener, the Laguna Beach High football team will be out to square its league record when the Breakers travel to Segerstrom High in Santa Ana to battle the Saddleback Roadrunners on Friday.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Laguna started its league season Oct. 9 and had Costa Mesa on the ropes, but the Mustangs, ranked eighth in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll, used a late turnover that led to the winning score in a 14-9 victory.

Now, the Breakers will attempt to regroup against a Saddleback team that is 3-3 overall.

“They started the season off strong and were a favorite in our league,” Laguna Coach Ted Clarke said of the Roadrunners. “They have some older kids who have been in their program a while. Their quarterback [Ozzy Zuno] is a four-year player, and they have a good looking running back [senior Pedro Leon]. They have some big fullbacks and add to that, they have a big offensive line and have been putting up some decent points.”

Saddleback began its season winning three of its first four games, each of the wins coming by 10 or more points and the widest margin of victory, a 41-0 shutout of Westminster La Quinta in its opener. Since their 3-1 start, the Roadrunners have dropped consecutive games to San Bernardino Aquinas (44-7) and Godinez (44-14), the latter coming in a league opener last week.

“The keys to our success on Friday will be in our ability to find a rhythm on offense, control the ball, and continue to play well on special teams. [Assistant coach] Dave Perkins is doing a strong job with our special teams.

“I’m happy with the way our defense has been playing, but we need to get better with our basics and fundamentals. We’ll need to bring our ‘A’ game.”

Laguna nearly pulled off a league-opening shocker last week, holding a 9-8 lead on Costa Mesa with under five minutes to play. The Mustangs, however, caught a break and were able to scoop up a fumble in mid-air and return it to the Laguna one-yard line. One play later, Mason Mataafa ran in for the go-ahead score. The Breakers stopped a two-point conversion attempt, and trailed, 14-9, with 4:24 to play.

Laguna put together an ensuing, seven-play drive that took the ball out to the Costa Mesa 43, but a 10-yard penalty against the Breakers, followed by two pass incompletions, a 12-yard sack, and final incompletion, gave the Mustangs the ball back on downs with 47 seconds left.

Laguna’s defense held Costa Mesa to under 200 yards of total offense (196).

“We didn’t have a good week of practice leading up to the game, but we led with 4:30 to play,” Clarke said. “Our kids were resilient and gritty. We’re not playing perfect football, but the kids are playing extremely hard. Defensively, I was impressed with what we did. To hold that team under 200 yards of offense, is a very good thing.

“That said, are we happy? No. We don’t want ‘moral’ victories. We need to learn to carry a game all the way through and close out an opponent.”

Laguna held Costa Mesa (5-1) scoreless in the first and third quarters but trailed, 8-3, at the half. The Breakers’ points came on a 22-yard field goal by George Cracknell with 18 seconds left before halftime.

They took their only lead (9-8) four minutes into the fourth quarter when senior quarterback Jack Simon scored on a two-yard keeper.

Sophomore Adam Armstrong came up with an interception on Costa Mesa’s ensuing drive to give Laguna the ball back. One play later, the Breakers gave the ball back on a fumble that led to Costa Mesa’s winning score.

Laguna will make its second trip of the season to Segerstrom Friday. The Breakers faced Segerstrom in a nonleague game Sept. 11, and will play there a third time when they close out league and regular season play Nov. 6 against Godinez.

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Football Season Log (2-4)

0...Valley Christian...50

16...Bolsa Grande...12

0...Segerstrom...45

18...Westminster...28

21...Sage Hill...17

9...*Costa Mesa...14

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)