FALL SPORTS UPDATE
CROSS COUNTY
Breakers are training despite the air quality issues. The varsity squads are off to Hawaii this weekend for the Iolani Invitational, and, next week, will run in the Woodbridge Invitational at the Great Park. The league cluster meet is on Oct. 2.
FLAG FOOTBALL (3-4, 1-2)
Breakers dropped a 25-7 contest to a highly regarded Woodbridge squad on Sep. 9 at Guyer Field. Kayleigh Thomas caught 12 passes for 127 yards and the lone score. On Sep. 4, Laguna defeated Sage Hill in their initial league outing 20-6. Thomas had a 60-yard interception return for a score, and Brighton Welch also scored in the contest. Laguna was at Rosary (4-3) on Sep. 11 and return home on Sep. 16, hosting University (2-3).
FOOTBALL (3-0)
Fighting Irish no match for Laguna in a 51-0 rout
Kennedy/La Palma (Anaheim District) ventured down to Laguna last Friday night and played tough defense as expected, but fortunately for the Breakers, their offensive miscues helped Laguna to a lopsided win.
Will Kimball had a big 32-yard interception return on the second play of the game but the Breakers were stifled on their first two possessions turning the ball over on downs and having a pass intercepted. Laguna scored on their final try for the quarter on a 53-yard 5-play drive with two big plays: 27 yard Jackson Kollock to Luke Jolley pass play and the touchdown run by Redmond Chesley.
The second quarter, Wyatt Bogdan intercepted a Kennedy pass for touchdown and the struggling Irish (2-1) could not make a first down in the first half. Laguna’s momentum picked up on their final two possessions of the half with 3-play and 6-play drives capped by Declan Murray’s touchdowns. Laguna received the second-half kickoff and turned that possession into a 9-play 53-yard drive to push the score to 35-0. Laguna scored near the end of the quarter on a Charlie Hunt interception.
Under a running clock in the final period, Laguna had one possession, with Jack Hurst hooking up with Grant Regal for the final touchdown. The Breakers got the safety on what ended up being the game’s final play as a bad snap was fumbled, which resulted in the Kennedy quarterback getting tackled in the endzone by Hunter Mills for the points. Breakers are now # 68 in the Cal Prep playoff rankings of the 373 Southern Section programs.
THIS WEEK: Sep. 13 vs. Gig Harbor at 7 p.m. at Guyer Field
Gig Harbor from Washington State is a 1,500-student school located in a small town on the west side of Puget Sound, just over the Narrows Bridge from Tacoma. The Poseidons will be similar to many of Laguna’s opponents and were 7-3 last season. Last week, they opened their season defeating cross-town rival Peninsula 14-10. Ryland Geldermann, who had 155 yards on 16 carries against the Seahawks, is a player to watch. This is the fourth game Laguna has had with an out-of-state team. 1965 – Beat Bishop Gorman, Nevada, 26-6 at Guyer Field; 2019 – Beat Green Street Academy 43-14 in Leonardtown, Maryland, 2022 – lost at Homedale, Idaho 46-14.
NEXT WEEK: Sep. 20 vs. El Dorado, 7 p.m. at Guyer Field
The Golden Hawks upset the Breakers last season in the opening CIF contest at Guyer Field on their way to the championship game for D-7 (Lost to Mayfair/Lakewood 31-28). They are in the Epsilon League this season, one above Laguna’s placement facing Huntington Beach, Foothill, Laguna Hills, Crean and La Habra. Playing a tougher non-league schedule, they edged Diamond Bar 21-19 to open the 2024 season but dropped two straight games – 32-8 to Redondo Union and 42-10 to Tustin. This week they were at cross-town rival Valencia.
Note: Scattered among the Laguna teams this fall are several legacy players who are second- and third-generation Laguna athletes. Redmond Chesley’s score against Kennedy was the 37th Laguna touchdown scored by a Chesley spanning seven players over 64 seasons. Quarterback Jack Hurst is the grandson of the 1960 team captain, Tom Lingo.
Cal Preps Website for ratings, schedules, scores etc., at calpreps.com. Game video highlights are posted on Max Preps at maxpreps.com/ca.
GIRLS GOLF (1-3, 0-1)
Laguna received a forfeit win over Laguna Hills on Sep. 5 as the Hawks could not field a five-player team. On Sep. 10, Breakers lost to El Toro 219-216 in a non-league match played at Oso Creek GC, par 31. Valerie Yang from El Toro earned match medalist honors with a score of 38, and the Laguna low score was 39, as earned by Glory Belland.
Additional scores for Laguna include Sofia Carr, 42; Spencer Anderson, 44; Alani Sciacca, 44; Morgan Hofknecht, 50; and Olivia Vermilya, 53.
BOYS SAND VOLLEYBALL (5-1, 1-1)
Laguna dropped a 5-2 league match to Corona del Mar on Tuesday, Sep. 10 at Main Beach. The match came down to the 4-man event where the Laguna squad dropped their first set this season 28-26. Earlier this month, Breakers opened league play with a 6-1 victory over San Clemente. Up next is Capo Valley Chrisitan on Sep. 17. Laguna will be hosting a Boys high school pairs tournament on Sep. 27 at Main Beach.
GIRLS TENNIS (1-2)
Heat affected a pair of scheduled matches, with the Sep. 5 encounter with San Clemente getting canceled and the Sep. 6 match with Palm Desert getting moved to Sep. 20. Breakers will return to the courts on Sep. 18 at JSerra.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL (2-17)
After defeating La Habra at the OC Mohs tournament, Laguna finally got into the win column again. The Breakers had lost to the Highlanders at the Tesoro Tournament earlier this season.
Sep. 4 at Crean Lutheran (10-6) – lost 23-25, 11-25, 12-25
Maddie Rootlieb was the Laguna kill leader with six.
Mohs Orange County Tournament at Marina High School
Friday:
Lost to Yorba Linda 20-25, 17-25
Lost to Cathedral Catholic (SDCIF), the eventual tournament champs 13-25, 18-25
Lost to Marina 20-25, 19-25
Bronze Bracket:
Beat La Habra 21-25, 25-14, 15-10
Lost to El Toro 23-25, 14-25
Laguna tournament kill leaders were Hollie Hooper with 18, Jordan Flynn with 15, Zoey Bond with 15 and Sadie Holms with 13. Sadie led in blocks with 8, Savannah Faris and Brynne Wiggins were the dig leaders, while Ivy Bianchi was the serve leader with seven aces.
Coming up: The Breakers match at Santa Margarita on Sep. 10 was canceled due to the fires, and league play opened with Rosary this past Thursday. Breakers are at Irvine on Sep. 17, Sage Hill on Sep. 18 and Portola on Sep. 19.
BOYS WATER POLO (3-6)
Breakers finished 9th in the 22-team Santa Barbara Invitational played last week in the Channel City. Breakers were ambushed 14-9 by San Marcos on Friday, Sep. 6 in the opening contest at Dos Pueblos High School. The Royals jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led 8-4 at the half. In the consolation bracket, Laguna defeated Orange Lutheran 13-7, Carlsbad 16-10 and Terra Linda (San Rafael) 15-10. On Tuesday, Laguna lost at home 18-10 to a very good Westlake team. The Warriors out-scored Laguna 7-2 in the second period to take control of the contest. Dylan Williams had three goals for the Breakers.
Earlier in the week, Laguna had to forfeit two earlier victories after confusion over an apparent foul in their opening contest that should have resulted in a sit-out period for a player. Naturally, his involvement in the two wins was inconsequential, but the Breakers were still required to forfeit the victories due to his participation.
Have a note on Laguna high school sports? E-mail Frank at frank@twometer.net. Looking for 2024-25 high school schedules and scores? Check Laguna Beach High School on the Max Preps website or the schedules tab on the Athletics website at lbhs.lbusd.org/athletics/schedules. To get scores on the school site, select the sport and level, click year and move the “show older events” toggle under the 2024-25 year.
