Fall/Winter Sports:
Football – Westminster Holds Off Laguna 27-21
In an entertaining contest on April 16 at Boswell Field on the Westminster High School campus, the Breakers almost pulled off an upset win to spoil the Lions’ homecoming game. Trailing by just six points, Laguna held Westminster mid-field on downs and with over a minute remaining drove to the Westminster 20-yard line when an end zone interception ended their comeback hopes with just seconds remaining.
The game opened with Laguna completing a 12-play drive for the first score followed by an 83-yard kick-off return by the Lions to tie the game. Not to be out-done, Jackson Golden ran 92 yards on the next scrimmage play to put Laguna in front 14-7 with less than 30-seconds expired from the first touchdown.
Westminster scored on their next try on a 13 play 60-yard possession to tie the game early in the second quarter.
Laguna’s next two tries ended on a mid-field punt and on an end zone interception after moving the ball down to the five-yard line. Westminster only had three scrimmage possessions in the first half scoring on all three plus the kickoff return to lead 27-14 at the intermission. The Lions’ final extra point try was blocked by David Dworakowski.
Laguna had one other great field possession series in the third quarter when the lost the ball on downs at the Westminster 24-yard line.
RUSH: Golden 17-124, Fields 3-0, Bingham 4-(23)
REC: Louch 8-93, Degner 8-124, Freeman 3-40, Arntz 2-13, Golden 1-7, Mulkay 1-5, Fields 2-13
PASSING: Bingham 36-25-2 295 yards 1 TD
PUNTS: Sprague 3-102 34.0
INTERCEPTIONS: Degner 1-0
KOR: Fields 3-13, Golden 1-5
MILESTONES:
Jackson Golden 92 Rush play from scrimmage ranks third all-time.
Will Bingham’s 1,133 season passing yards ranks 22nd all-time. His 225.6 yards per game ranks fourth.
Jackson Golden’s 97.6 season yards rush yards per game ranks 11th all-time.
Evan Louch’s 5.8 season catches per game receiving ranks fourth all-time.
Winter/Spring Sports:
Baseball (7-4)
Jeff Sear’s squad split their final two Newport Elks tournament games to finish 4-1 overall in tournament play. On April 14, they suffered a 10-2 loss to Crean Lutheran giving up 11 hits and making three errors in the contest.
On Friday, Shea Blanchard picked up the victory as Laguna defeated Troy 7-3. Blanchard went three for three with his bat driving in three runs. Blanchard struck out eight batters in six innings of work on the mound while Griff Naess pitched the final inning in relief facing four batters.
Boys Basketball (5-0)
Laguna’s planned encounter with Santa Fe High School was postponed until April 26. This past week Laguna faced Marina on April 21 at Dugger Gym then opened their challenging Sunset Surf League season at Los Alamitos on April 23. Besides the non-league encounter with Santa Fe, Laguna will also host Corona del Mar on April 28 in a non-league contest and Newport Harbor on April 30 in a Sunset Surf game.
Series history with Sunset Surf League opponents Los Alamitos 2-4, Edison 5-4, Newport Harbor 8-37. This is Laguna’s first season in this league.
Statistical leaders:
Scoring: Nolan Naess 21.8 points per game
3-pointers: 16 – Willie Rounaghi, 12- Naess
Rebounds: 37 – Nolan Naess, 29 – Jackson Sirianni, 26 – W Rounaghi
Blocked Shots: 8 – Jackson Sarianni, 5 – Naess
Assists: 33 – W Rounaghi, 18 – Kanoa Panganiban
Steals: 10 – W Rounaghi
Girls Basketball (5-8)
Laguna went 1-2 since last week dropping a 44-38 contest at St Margaret’s on April 14 followed by a 39-32 comeback win over Mission Viejo on Saturday. On Tuesday, they lost a tough 44-12 contest to Division 1 power Huntington Beach (7-0) at Dugger Gym. Sunset Wave League play opens at Newport Harbor (5-1) on April 27. Other league members include Edison (4-3) and Marina (2-6)
Boys Soccer (1-2-0, 3-6-1)
Breakers lost 2-1 to Newport Harbor in league play on April 14 at Guyer Field but bounced back to edge Marina in another league contest 1-0 on Monday at the Vikings’ field. Rafael Ortiz-Marquez scored at the 30-minute mark for the lone score. The second round of league play begins on April 28 when Laguna hosts Huntington Beach (3-0, 9-0-1).
Girls Soccer (2-1, 3-3)
Ben Helm’s team split a pair contests defeating Marina 1-0 in a Sunset Wave League contest on April 15 at Guyer Field to complete the first round of league play in second place. On Monday, in a non-league contest Laguna lost to Division 1 power Los Alamitos 5-0 at the Griffins’ field. The next round of league play begins on April 27 at Fountain Valley. The last home game is April 29 with Newport Harbor (3-0-0, 8-1-2)
Sand Volleyball
Varsity play was suspended for COVID-19 protocols with only the junior varsity competing this past week.
Swimming
Breakers dropped a close dual meet at Newport Harbor on April 20 with the Boys losing 91-61 and the Girls 87-83.
Boys winners:
50-Free – Will Kelly 22.30; 100 Free – Will Kelly 48.59; 500 Free – Coleman Judd 5:05.93
200 Free Relay (Hutton Ledger, Judd, Sai Bassett, Kelly) 1:31.50; 400 Free Relay (Bassett, Judd, Ledger, Kelly) 3:21.70
Girls Winners:
200 Free – Jessie Rose 1:56.46; 200 IM – Addie Hudzinski 2:19.01; 100 Free – Jessie Rose 54.41; 100 Back – Ava Houlahan 1:04.81; 200 Free Relay (Rose, Emma Lineback, Skylar Kidd, Ava Knepper) 1:44.98; 400 Free Relay (Knepper, Hudzinski, Lineback, Rose) 3:43.40
Boys Tennis (1-0, 6-2)
Laguna opened their Sunset Wave League play with an easy 14-4 romp over Edison on April 19. Coach Rick Conkey was able to use substitutes in the contest giving the bench opportunities. The league crown will most likely be decided at Marina on April 16 with the Vikings (6-4) the only real challenge this season. Laguna is looking for their 46th league title in the 85 seasons of conference play.
Girls Tennis (7-4, 2-1)
Missing a key singles starter proved to be the Breakers downfall as Edison pulled off a 10-8 upset on April 15 at the Laguna courts. Sarah and Jessica MacCallum easily won their singles sets but Laguna was unable to get any other set wins. Coupled with two narrow set losses in doubles gave the Chargers the victory.
On Tuesday, Laguna took care of league leader Fountain Valley (2-1, 10-4) with a solid 11-7 win sweeping all singles sets. Breakers will be at Edison on April 27 and Fountain Valley on April 29 in the key matches to secure the league title. The squad tied for second last season after winning the previous 14 seasons. Overall, Laguna has won 25 league titles in 46 years of CIF sponsored league play.
Boys Volleyball (0-2, 1-5)
Short-handed Laguna appears to be missing the post-season this year. For the first time in the 47 playoffs held by the Southern Section, Laguna will not to be in the mix. The squad lost a few multi-sport players who opted for their winter season sport which is conflicting with the volleyball campaign this year.
Breakers lost a pair of league matches losing to South Section third-ranked Corona del Mar 25-14, 25-15, 25-20 on April 15 and 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 to South Section sixth-ranked Huntington Beach on Tuesday at the Oiler’s gym. Tournaments are banned this season and the limited schedule give Laguna only 12 matches including six league contests. The Breakers’ four-team league includes three of Southern California’s top six squads.