FALL SPORTS UPDATE
CROSS COUNTRY
The Girls will run in the SSCIF D-4 prelims on Nov. 12 at the Mt SAC course in Walnut. The top 16 teams in Division 4 will then advance to the finals to be held on Nov. 19 on the same course. Only the top seven teams in the finals will then advance to the State Meet to be held on Nov. 26. On the Boys’ side, Christopher Drews qualified as an individual to run the SSCIF D4 preliminaries as the only Laguna Boys representative.
For more information, visit www.lbxc.org for girls’ cross country, and www.lagunabeachcrosscountry.com for boys.
FOOTBALL (8-3, 3-0)
LAGUNA HOLDS OFF WARRIORS – CIF QUARTERFINALS NEXT
Laguna rallied from a 14-0 deficit to defeat the visiting West High School Warriors from Torrance 24-21 in a contest complete with a nail-biting fourth quarter as the home team held on for the win last Friday night at Guyer Field. With the victory, Laguna advances to play La Quinta (7-4) in the desert town south of Palm Springs on Friday. The Blackhawks are the #1 seed in D-9 but are only 1-point favorites per the SSCIF ranking system. Unlike most of Laguna’s opponents, La Quinta is primarily a running team led by sophomore back #3 Aiden Nsubuga (154-1511 yds 16 tds).
The West High School game opened with Laguna kicking off to the Warriors (a 2,000-student school that opened in 1962) with the ball bouncing out-of-bounds. West then executed a smooth seven-play, 65-yard drive, scoring on a clean 13-yard touchdown pass.
Breakers were stiffed on their first possession and were forced to punt deep into their own territory. The Warriors wasted no time marching 56 yards in six plays capped with a big 27-yard TD pass play for a 14-0 advantage. Things were looking grim for the Breakers until Nick Rogers electrified the crowd and the team on the ensuing kickoff going 86-yards for the score.
The defense then stopped the Torrance school on four plays forcing a punt. Nine plays later, Jackson Kollock ran the final yard to tie the contest once Nico Viduaurri-tucker made the PAT. Key plays on the drive were a 45-yard pass play to Ryner Swanson and a 12-yard toss to Myles Freeman.
Nico did the kicking duties due to Jackson Rodriguez tweaking his shoulder during the Breaker drive.
Laguna held West again on five plays forcing another Warrior punt. On Laguna’s possession, a tipped pass was snagged by Kyle Cascalenda and returned for West High’s last points.
The teams traded short possessions after that until the intermission. Laguna then received the kickoff to start the second half, with Nick Rogers returning the ball to the Breaker 26. A few short pass plays and a 5-yard West penalty set up the big 62-yard Jackson Kollock to Ryner Swanson bomb to tie the game. Swanson’s speed kicked in after the reception, and the West defenders could never catch him.
West High’s only third-quarter possession was an 11-play drive all the way to the Laguna 3-yard line, but the inspired goal line stand with pressure from Micah Chavez and a pass breakup by Marcus Heins put an end to the attempt. Laguna then closed out the quarter with a long nine-play possession and settled for what proved to be the winning score when Nico Vidaurri-Tucker kicked a 26-yard field goal.
Both teams had three possessions in the final period. West had their first end when Myles Freeman forced a fumble off a pass reception that Noah Landa recovered. The second attempt by West went 14 plays but stellar pass defense by Laguna including a dramatic pass block by Sam Garwal turned the ball over. The final West try ended on Aidan Mulkay’s interception for a touchback. Laguna’s first two possessions ended on four downs in West territory while the final try was in the closing minute to run out the clock.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Rogers 12-62, Kollock 7-(4), Team 2-(14)
Passing: Kollock 32-23-1 239 yards 1 TD
Receiving: Rogers 6-22, Swanson 8-141, Garrwal 2-14, Mulkay 3-29, Donaldson 3-21, Freeman 1-12
Interceptions: Mulkay
Fumbles: 1 – caused by Miles Freeman, recovered by Noah Landa
Punt Returns: none
Kickoff Returns: Rogers 3-112, Landa 1-12
Punting: Rodriguez 1-43, Rogers 1-41
Boys Water Polo (18-10, 0-6)
Laguna advanced to the D1 Semifinals that were held this past Wednesday night at the Woollett Center in Irvine.
Should the Breakers defeat Foothill (19-11) for the second time this season – they would advance to the Saturday championships at Woollett against either Orange Lutheran (18-10) or Corona del Mar (22-8). Laguna last appeared in a section final in 2016 when they dropped a 6-4 contest to Santa Margarita. Overall they have played in six finals winning three titles.
Games so Far:
Laguna 13, Redlands East Valley 7, Nov. 2 @ Citrus Valley HS, Redlands
Wildcats never had a chance as Laguna took the lead early in the initial period cruising to the opening round win.
Sai Bassett scored four goals, Cade Anderton had three, and Coleman Judd scored twice. Tyler Swensen had 15 saves.
Laguna 10, Servite 8, Nov 5 @ Corona del Mar High School
Breakers played their “home” game at Corona del Mar’s regulation pool last Saturday defeating the Friars. Laguna never trailed in the contest and took control behind Sai Bassett’s four goals. Laguna led 5-3 at the intermission and 8-4 after three periods. Also contributing were Brady Bumgarner’s two scores and another 15 saves from Tyler Swensen.
Season -to-date scoring leaders: 72 – Cade Anderton, 66 – Diego Audebert, 39 – Sai Bassett, 35 – Coleman Judd, 22 – Eli Taub.
FALL SIGNING DAY CEREMONY
Breaker athletes participated in the traditional fall college commitment day at the high school quad on Nov. 9. The following were expected to commit:
Jana Jocic – UC San Diego, Swimming
Colin Kidd – New Jersey Institute of Technology, Baseball
Griffin Naess – Cal Poly SLO, Baseball
Cadence Peery – Cal Poly Humboldt, Track
Jordan Schneider – University of Michigan, Water Polo
Lauren Schneider – University of Southern California, Water Polo
Lauren Short – Villanova, Water Polo
Katelyn Smith – UC Davis,Tennis
Eva Travis – UC Santa Barbara, Volleyball
Cleo Washer – Brown, Water Polo
Brooklyn Yelland -Boston College, Volleyball
Girls Volleyball Fall Awards:
Girls volleyball held its annual team banquet on Tuesday night at Three Arch Bay, celebrating the high school’s fiftieth season of CIF-sponsored indoor volleyball. Besides the team awards presented, Eva Travis was selected First Team All-SUNSET SURF LEAGUE as an outside hitter, while Brooklyn Yelland was selected on Second Team as a Libero. Both players will be continuing their careers in college.
Varsity:
Best Teammate: Dempsey Sadler
Coach’s Award: Grace Christian
Most Improved: Sadie Holmes
MVP: Brooklyn Yelland
Junior Varsity:
Best Teammate: Madeline Rootlieb
Coach’s Award: Amy Metri
Most Improved: Eden Shonfeld
MVP: Hayes Frith
Frosh-Soph
Coach’s Award: Lucy Rowley
Most Improved: Marina Villalobos
Captains: Ayla McManus and Slenna Brown
Looking for the 2022-23 High School schedules and scores?
Football, G Volleyball, and Water Polo scores and rosters can be found on the Max Preps website.
