Laguna, Uni in 36-36 Tie

September 11, 2012

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s 1 football Home_Opener_Uni — Breakers begin the 2012 season.

The 25^th meeting of the two schools was filled with plenty of momentum swings, carrying Breakers from the near abyss trailing 28-17 to a near victory leading 36-28 with just two minutes remaining.

In the final minutes, University completed their fourth down play, taking advantage of a weakened Laguna secondary missing Robert Clemons, who was sidelined during the last period with severe leg cramps.

In University’s final 17-play drive, they completed seven passes but the final score was not without controversy as the University runner appeared to fumble the ball away from the goal line as his body crossed the final line. The officials still ruled the attempt a touchdown – no instant replay in high school. University then executed the two-point conversion on a pass to knot the score with less than five seconds remaining.

The game opened with University recovering the initial kickoff on a freak bounce. It appeared the kickoff was heading out-of-bounds when the ball rebounded backwards into a swarm of University players, giving the Trojans the ball on the Laguna 21 yard line. Six plays later it was 7-0. Laguna responded with their own drive going eight plays to score. It was evident the Laguna running game would have to work for every yard as University was prepared and talented.

After holding the Trojans to three plays, Breakers were able to drive to the University eight-yard mark before the drive stalled. Robbie McInerny kicked a 25-yard field goal with just under two minutes remaining in the period to give Laguna a 10-7 lead.

Second period was a breakout for the Trojans as they scored on two consecutive possessions with big plays on a 64 and 49-yard runs. Breakers finally scored with Nathan Lancaster going 77 yards on a touchdown run to cut the lead to 21-17. University added their final first-half points on a long 15-play drive.

In the second half, the Breakers were ready to play playing tough defense from the start of the period. On the third play of the quarter, Drake Martinez snagged a University pass and raced to paydirt to recharge the home team.

Laguna held University on the Trojan’s next possession as Clemons returned the punt to the Laguna 46 yard line. Still the Trojans played tough defense as Laguna took 12 plays to move only 25 yards. On one fourth and six try, Martinez dragged the University defenders the final few yards to earn a first down. The drive culminated on the first play of the fourth period when Martinez finally broke through the Trojan line for a touchdown run. University’s response was a long 15-play drive but their field goal attempt failed. Breakers then extended their lead from 29-28 to 36-28 when Lancaster connected with Jake Hexberg on a half-back option for a 79-yard score with just over two minutes remaining. The play was the fifth longest in 78 seasons for Laguna and that set the scene for University’s final drive.

Laguna faces John Glenn High School in Norwalk on Thursday. The contest was played at the old Excelsior Union High School stadium against the winless Eagles, a 1,500-student school from the Suburban League.

Game # 3 Statistics:

	*1st*	*2nd*	*3rd*	*4th*
University	7	21	0	8	36
Laguna Beach	10	7	6	13	36

U – 2 run (kick) 9:39 1^st Q

L – Clemons 19 run (McInerny kick) 6:01 1^st Q

L – McInerny 25 FG 1:50 1^st Q

U – 64 run (kick) 11:48 2^nd Q

U – 49 run (kick) 9:14 2^nd Q

L – Lancaster 77 run (McInerny kick) 8:55 2^nd Q

U – 11 pass (kick) 1:05 2^nd Q

L – Martinez 22 IR (kick failed) 10:40 3^rd Q

L – Martinez 23 run (kick attempt failed) 11:59 4^th Q

L – Hexberg 79 pass from Lancaster (McInerny kick)

U – 1 run (pass good) 0:04.9 4^th Qtr

	LB	Uni
1st Downs	13	21
Rush/Yds	33-257	46-306
Pass Yds	8-139	88
C-A-I	6-8-0	11-25-1
Plays/TYG	41-396	71-394
Fumbles/Lost	3-0	2-0
Return Yds	54	0
Punts/Ave	1-23	2-33.0
Penalties/Yds	10-75	6-55