By Frank Aronoff | LB Indy
Football
Laguna opened their 80th season with an easy but somewhat uneven victory over Bolsa Grande from the Garden Grove League last Friday, Sept. 5, at the Bolsa Grande Stadium. Coach Corey Brown freely substituted, giving little indication on this team’s potential against the schedule’s tougher teams. This week’s home opener, Friday, Sept. 12, with University looks challenging on paper with the Trojans 28-6 victory last week over a usually tough Segerstrom. Uni leads the all-time series with Laguna at 21-4-1.
Against the Matadors, the Breakers first score came after Ethan Chesley recovered a Bolsa fumble on their own 35 yard line. Bruce Knill took the ball one yard before Chesley blasted the line to score on the second play from scrimmage.
The Matadors came back, but turned the ball over on downs after driving 20 yards following a strong 37-yard kick-off return. Breakers wasted no time as Jack Simon hit Brett Tracy on a short five yard pass that the receiver took to pay dirt for the remaining 75 yards, breaking two tackles along the way. The play ties for the fourth longest in school history matching a Mike Haas to Ted Odmark play against Tustin in 1952 and Morgan Lanchantin to Eric Fegraus at Newport Harbor in 1990. The school record is 96 yards by Talan Torriero to Tommy Cogburn in 2004.
Down 14-0, the Matadors scored on a five-play drive with success through the air. The Breakers answered quickly on a three-play drive with Bruce Knill scoring. Nick Krantz made it 28-6 with his own nifty run for 56 yards early in the second period
After half time, the Matadors never really threatened and the Breakers were somewhat hampered by the moisture on the field that seemed to affect their footing. Fans had some excitement late in the third period when a Jack Simon pass appeared to be thrown short but the Bolsa player tipped the ball right into the waiting hands of Bruce Knill, who ran the remaining 15 yards for the score.
GAME STATISTICS
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | ||
| Laguna Beach | 21 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
| Bolsa Grande | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
LB – Chesley 34 run (Knill kick) 9:15 1st Q
LB – Tracy 80 pass from Simon (Knill kick) 6:03 1st Q
BG – 20 pass (Run failed) 3:15 1st Q
LB – Knill 47 run (Knill kick) 2:30 1st Q
LB – Krantz 56 run (Knill kick) 9:21 2nd Q
BG – 9 pass (pass failed) 3:34 2nd Q
LB – Knill 25 FG 0:36 2nd Q
LB – Knill 37 pass from Simon (Knill kick) 5:41 3rd Q
LB – Krantz 15 run (Knill kick) 0:27 4th Q
| LB | BG | |
| 1st Downs | 17 | 14 |
| Rush/Yds | 37-321 | 36-99 |
| Pass Yds | 149 | 150 |
| C-A-I | 4-9-0 | 11-25-0 |
| Plays/TYG | 46-470 | 61-249 |
| Fumbles/Lost | 5-3 | 3-1 |
| Return Yds | 6 | 0 |
| Punts/Ave | 1-52 | 4-30.3 |
| Penalties/Yds | 3-32 | 2-10 |
Rushing
Krantz 8-109, Chesley 7-80, Hayes 7-21, Brunicardi 7-23, Knill 5-83, Simon 3-5
Passing
Simon 9-4-0 89 yards 2 TDs 256.8 rating
Receiving
Tracy 3-112, Knill 1-37
Punt Returns
Brunicardi 1-6
Kickoff Returns
Krantz 1-31, Brunicardi 1-17
Punting
Simon 1-52
Milestones:
4th straight season opening win (record is 6 straight) Laguna is 40-39-1 in 80 seasons
(1 forfeit loss – on the field, 41-38-1)
Southern Division SSCIF Poll – Week # 2: 1 – Garden Grove, 2 – El Modena, 3 – Los Amigos, 4 – Rancho Alamitos, 5 – Westminster, 6 – El Dorado, 7 – Brea Olinda, 8 – Estancia, 9 – Laguna Beach, 10 – Santa Ana Valley, Others: Canyon/Anaheim, Calvary Chapel SA, Santiago/GG, Katella, Anaheim, Segerstrom.
Photos by Doug Landrum
Doug Landrum_Ethan Chesley_09-06-2014
Ethan Chesley broke free to run 34 yards for Laguna’s first six points of the season. Ethan is the third generation Chesley to score a TD for Laguna.
Doug Landrum_Bruce Knill_09-06-2014
Sophomore Bruce Knill carries for 47 yards and a touchdown on Laguna’s third possession. Knill scored 21 points in the game.
Doug Landrum_Brett Tracy_09-06-2014
Brett Tracy catches a Jack Simon pass, slips one defender and runs for an 80 yard touchdown – fourth longest in Laguna history.
Doug Landrum_Matt Hayes_09-06-2014
Sophomore Matt Hayes runs for 21 yards on seven carries, including this 10-yard run to set up a 25-yard field goal by Bruce Knill.
