Laguna wants to bounce back

The early stretch of the nonleague season has tested the Laguna Beach High football team.

Having already faced highly-regarded teams in Valley Christian and Segerstrom, the Breakers will take on another challenge Friday when they host Westminster.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.

The Breakers enter the game 1-2 overall, their shutout losses to Valley Christian (No. 6, CIF Southern Section Northwest Division) and last week to Segerstrom, sandwiching a victory over Bolsa Grande. Now, they’ll be squaring off against a Westminster team that heads into Guyer Field holding down the No. 1 ranking in the CIF-SS Southern Division.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Laguna Coach Ted Clarke said of the game. “Boy, they are a very good football team.”

Westminster is 2-0. The Lions started their season two weeks ago and rallied to knock off previously top-ranked and defending Southern Division champion Garden Grove, 27-26. They followed that upset with a 42-20 win Sept. 11 over rival Marina.

Senior Matt Dinh guided the Westminster offense back from an early, 7-0 deficit to Marina. His scored on a one-yard keeper late in the first quarter that put the Lions ahead for good, and later threw three touchdown passes to different receivers.

Dinh finished with 91 rushing yards and 108 through the air.

Junior running back Josh Avila ran for a game-high 153 yards and a touchdown.

“For us, this is an opportunity for our kids to see that this is what a No. 1 team looks like,” Clarke said. “These first few games have given us a chance to play fast at game speed, something we haven’t had the luxury of doing in practice.

“This also is a challenge in that Westminster has some very good skill players. Their quarterback (Dinh) does a good job of running the offense and they have some very talented running backs.”

The same night Westminster defeated Marina, Laguna went to Segerstrom to battle the Jaguars, and dropped a 45-0 decision. The Jaguars incorporated several backs into its rushing attack, stormed to an early lead and never looked back.

Segerstrom’s first three possessions netted three touchdowns on just 13 plays. The Jaguars’ second score was set up by its defense which blocked a punt deep in Laguna territory. Fullback Gabriel Lopez rushed for a pair of scores and quarterback Gus Guerrero scored on a keeper.

A fourth rushing touchdown, this one by running back Abel Diaz, put Segerstrom up, 28-0, at the half.

Senior Jack Simon, who a week earlier had set a school record for rushing yards gained (184) in a game by a Laguna quarterback, was held in-check all night by the Segerstrom defense. He was limited to four rushing yards and passed for 53.

Senior running back George Cracknell led the Laguna rushing game with 21 yards. A Simon-to-Cracknell screen pass that netted 24 yards in the first half was the biggest gain of the game for the Breakers.

“They were just better than us,” Clarke said. “They have size and they have some speed.

“We got away from our base plan, from the players to the coaches. We let the talk about a win or a loss take over, instead of focusing on what we needed to do. We have to take this one brick at a time, one step at a time. We’ll come back.”

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Breakers (1-2) On Watch

0...Valley Christian...50

16...Bolsa Grande...12

0...Segerstrom...45

Friday: Westminster, 7 p.m.

Sept. 25: at Sage Hill, 7 p.m.

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)