Football Banquet Honors Top Players
Breakers held their 86th annual football awards banquet on Tuesday, Jan. 14, in Laguna Hills. The team honored both the varsity and the lower level JV/Frosh-Soph team, which both had successful seasons. The varsity squad went 5-5 on the season, losing two tough league games that kept the squad out of the playoffs. Breakers lost a 56-49 thriller to Western (9-2) and a 27-20 contest at Ocean View (7-4). The lower level squad coached by Hunter Braun went 8-1 on the season, losing only to Crean Lutheran 21-7 in their first game.
Lower Level Award Winners:
MVP: Cooper Buckhorn
Ironman: Micah Chavez
Teammate: Landon McKnight and Jack Arntz
Lineman: Rowen Johnson
Offensive Player: Will Bingham
Defensive Player: Stephen Gallegos
Varsity Winners:
MVP: Andrew Johnson
Ironman: Jackson Golden
Teammate: Heath Magiera
Lineman: Sammer Tarazi
Offensive Player: Raul Villalobos
Defensive Player: Jack Pigott
All-Golden West Conference – Pac 4 League:
Co-Offensive POT: Andrew Johnson
Special Teams POY: Beck Kesler
First Team: Raul Villalobos, WR; Jack Pigott, WR/DB; Jackson Golden, RB/DB; Sammer Tarazi, C
Second Team: Jack Crawford, WR; Clay Gershenson, DL; Tyler Fields, RB
Offensive Records Set:
Andrew Johnson:
Total Offense: Career Plays – 839, Career Total offense – 5,331 yards, Career Touchdowns responsible for – 79
Passing: Passing Attempts – 689, Career Competitions – 382, Career TD Passes – 71, Career Yards – 5,642
TD passes – game: 7 vs. Western 10/25/19
Raul Villalobos:
Yards Receiving – Game 265 vs. Western
Yards per catch – game 37.9 yards
Season yards per catch – 32.40
17 career receiving touchdowns ranks third best in Laguna history and overall ranks second in career scoring tied with Jim Kuhn, Shane Lythgoe, and Austin Paxson.
Boys Basketball (15-7)
Breakers survived 13 three-pointers from host Marina as Laguna held off the defending league champs 55-48 to win their opening league game last Friday night at the Viking gym. Nolan Naess had 15 points and Jackson Sirianni added 10 to lead Laguna. Breakers shot 61 percent from inside the arc and were deadly in the paint.
This past Monday, D3AA #8 Laguna met D3AA #7 Cerritos in an MLK Day contest at Corona del Mar’s gym and defeated the Dons 59-48 behind Nolan Naess’s 22 points. Breakers trailed 16-9 at the 2:25 minute mark in the first quarter for Cerritos’ best advantage and took the lead for good on a Willie Rounaghi 3-point shot with just a minute gone in the second period to go up 19-18.
SSCIF Division 3AA Poll for Jan. 21: 1 – Providence/Burbank, 2 – Westlake, 3 – Salesian, 4 Servite, 5 – Hillcrest, 6 – Paraclete, 7 – Cerritos, 8 – Laguna Beach, 9 – Silverado, 10 – Mark Keppel, 11 – La Salle, 12 – Santiago/Corona, 13 – Viewpoint, 14 – Ventura, 15 – Upland, 16 – Newbury Park.
Remaining Regular Season Home Games:
Friday, Jan. 24 – Huntington Beach
Wednesday, Jan. 31- Marina
Friday, Jan. 31 – Fountain Valley
Girls Basketball (9-14, 0-2)
Wave league action opened with a pair of losses as Laguna lost at Fountain Valley 58-20 on Jan. 16 and at home to Newport Harbor 60-29 on Jan. 21.=
Boys Soccer (5-7-2, 0-1)
Laguna lost 1-0 to Marina (7-6-3) in their Wave League opening match last Friday at the Viking’s field. Laguna was at Fountain Valley on Jan. 22 and will host Huntington Beach on Jan. 24. Last home game will be Jan. 31 against Fountain Valley.
Girls Soccer (4-4-5, 0-0-2)
Ben Helm’s team opened league play with a pair of 0-0 ties at Fountain Valley on Jan. 16 and against D1 Newport Harbor (13-4-4) on Jan. 21. Laguna will host Fountain Valley on Jan. 28 and will conclude league play on Feb. 4 with league leading Marina.
Girls Water Polo (18-1, 3-0)
Laguna picked up a pair of key Sunset Surf League victories taking a step closer to 14th consecutive league crown. On Thursday, Jan. 16, the Breakers cruised past Corona del Mar 13-6 at the loser’s pool. Laguna scored on their first three possessions as Rachael Carver tossed in a pair while Emma Lineback scored on a power play with less than three minutes gone in the contest. Laguna was able to play 15 different field players in their victory. Emma Singer added a goal, two assists, and drew two exclusions, while Skyler Kidd had three steals.
This past Tuesday, Laguna stopped Newport for the fourth time this season, beating the #2 ranked Tars 9-5 at the Newport pool. After jumping out to a 5-0 advantage, poor shooting (9 for 27) by Laguna allowed the Sailors to cut the lead to two goals before Laguna was able to extend the margin. Rachael Carver and Morgan Van Alphen were key throughout the contest, as was Lauren Schneider in the cage with 11 saves. Newport’s goalie, Anna Reed, had a lot to do with the Tar’s defense with 10 saves and a key five-meter penalty block of a shot by Emma Lineback. Breakers have now won 14 straight in the 26 game series.
Statistical Leaders after 19 Games:
Goals: 48 – Lineback, 36 – Renner, 35 – Struss, 28 – R Carver, 22 – Morgan Van Alphen
Assists: 38 – R Carver, 34 – Lineback, 23 – Singer, 19 – Renner, 17 – Rose
Steals: 29 – R Carver, 22 – Renner, 21 A. Houlahan, 20 – Lineback, 17 – Van Alphen, Rose, & Kidd
Drawn Exclusions: 31 – Struss, 21 – Clemons, 16 – Lineback, 13 – Carver, 10 -Singer
Saves: Schneider 120, Denny 10, Parness 7