Another tough task awaits

Coach Jonathan Todd said the Breakers missed their senior middle linebacker Ethan Quirarte (elbow) in the game, but the Laguna Beach defense was doing a good job stopping a potent Garden Grove offense on Oct. 1 at Garden Grove.

Then, with the Breakers down, 7-6, late in the first half of the nonleague game, misfortune hit.

“I thought we were doing well,” Todd said. “We were running and passing and mixing it up. Then, we had a touchdown called back and we didn’t make it on fourth down. They were giving us the short pass and we were taking it, but we just couldn’t get it going after that.”

Garden Grove (4-0) scored three touchdowns in the final two minutes of the second half, taking advantage of some Laguna Beach (1-3) turnovers.

Junior receiver Chris Paul did add to his career touchdowns record by grabbing his 16th in the second quarter on a pass from Austin Paxson. Todd said Paul also set a single-game school record against Garden Grove, by catching 15 passes. Paul is currently ranked No. 1 in the county in catches (32) and yards (479), and his eight touchdowns rank second to Juan Cruz of Rancho Alamitos.

Against Garden Grove, Paul also had 12 tackles on defense.

The Breakers will travel south tonight to face a significant challenge in Francis Parker (3-1) of San Diego. The Lancers made headlines a couple of weeks ago when they topped St. Margaret’s, 28-20, on Sept. 11, ending the Tartans’ 44-game winning streak that was the longest in Orange County history.

Francis Parker, which won the CIF San Diego Section Division V championship a year ago, is led by senior quarterback Deon Randall. Randall passes for 122 yards a game but is an equal threat on the ground, where he rushes for 144 yards a game.

Last year, Francis Parker topped Laguna Beach, 49-7, as Randall had three touchdown runs as well as three touchdown passes.

“They’re phenomenal,” Todd said. “For us, it’s going to be the ultimate challenge. We’re going to be facing some guys who will be playing on Saturday and maybe beyond.”

Tonight is the Breakers’ final nonleague game before opening Orange Coast League play Oct. 17 at Godinez.