FALL SPORTS UPDATE
FOOTBALL (5-1)
Breakers Rally Past Charter Oak 18-17
The visiting Chargers were exactly what was expected: a quick and athletic team that was used to playing difficult teams.
Laguna took the opening drive and surprised the visitors with a controlled attack that included eight running plays that resulted in a 10-play 77-yard march that culminated in a 23-yard toss to Ryner Swanson for the score. The point-after kick was just wide.
Charter Oak returned the favor on an 11-play effort that the Breakers assisted with five of their game’s total eight penalties called on the drive (50 yards). The Chargers scored on a 6-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.
Breakers realized they were facing a more formidable opponent as they picked off Jackson Kollock’s pass on the third play of the ensuing possession, returning the ball 29 yards to the Laguna 41. Four plays later, the Breakers were now down 14-6. After that, they realized they could not be cavalier on their passes, not that their opponent had a very skilled secondary.
Most of the Breakers’ remaining completed passes were defended on the spot of the catch, limiting the yards gained after the competition.
Laguna’s two remaining quarter possessions reflected the new reality, and both ended in punts. Charter’s skilled kicker added their final points in the closing seconds of the half.
Laguna’s halftime adjustments were effective. They limited Charter to 36 yards on the opening possession of the second half and made the stops mid-field to force a punt. Laguna’s 83-yard 12-play drive used most of the remaining time in the quarter with a Kollock to Swanson pass play on a fourth down, keeping the drive alive and another toss to Swanson to score. Merrick Vellmure and Charlie Hunt also had some great catches in the effort.
The Breaker defense completely swamped Charter Oak in the final period, holding the visitors to a net minus 1 yard in three drives.
Laguna’s first effort looked promising after a fake punt play to Charlie Hunt gained 18 yards. The effective pass defense just stifled the Laguna game.
With less than four minutes remaining, the Breakers second possession appeared to be their last chance. Fans were anxious the squad scored so quickly on a three-play possession, giving the Chargers the ball with three minutes remaining.
Laguna’s defense was spot-on, with a two-yard loss, an incomplete pass play, and a sack. Charlie Hunt picked off the pass for a 23-yard return on the Chargers’ last attempt to ice the game.
Game #6 vs CHARTER OAK – STATISTICS
Rush: Rogers 11-54, Kollock 6-28, Hunt 2-19, Team 3-(18)
Pass: Kollock 25-17-1 143 yards 3 TDS
Rec: Swanson 6-81 3TDs, Hunt 4-39, Rogers 4-6, Vellmure 3-17
Returns:
Interception: Hunt 1-23
Punt: Vellmure 1-9, 1 Fair Catch
KO: Rogers 3-73, Tyson 1-4
Punts: Mills 3-98
Records:
Ryner Swanson tied the career pass reception at 155 (tied with Sean Nolan (2016-18).
Up this week – Garden Grove this past Thursday.
Next week: Laguna’s 67th homecoming game versus Ocean View on Oct. 13 at Guyer Field. The Sea Hawks hold a 6-4-1 series advantage and the game marks the first of three league games as Laguna begins their league title defense.
2023 Football Score Log (With current Cal Preps ranking for the Southern Section – 373 schools – Breakers are #92 this week
8/17 lost to #109 Chino 27-26
8/25 beat #133 Dana Hills 24-10
9/1 beat #166 Northwood 35-21
9/8 beat #128 Santa Ana 68-48
9/22 beat #288 Lakeside 75-12
9/29 beat #120 Charter Oak 18-17
10/5 at #220 Garden Grove
10/13 #311 Ocean View (Homecoming)
10/20 #344 Godinez (Senior Night)
10/27 at #187 Westminster
Game recaps and video highlights are posted on the Football page at the Laguna Max Preps within a few hours of the game concluding. It’s a great way to see the top plays of the evening. www.maxpreps.com/ca/laguna-beach/laguna-beach-breakers/football.
The 112-page Football Record Book is posted in PDF format at www.lbhsathletics.com in the Football section under Alumni/history. The book contains records, scores and historical photos – all you need to know about Laguna football. Current statistics are posted at the Max Preps site.
CROSS COUNTRY:
Laguna will compete on Oct. 6 and 7 at the Clovis Invitational on the Woodward Park cross-country course used for the annual state meet. The following Friday, Oct. 13 is the Orange County Championships at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado.
SSCIF D4 Girls XCC Rankings for Oct. 2: 1 – JSerra, 2 – La Canada, 3 – Oaks Christian, 4 – South Pasadena, 5 – Palos Verdes, 6 – Harvard-Westlake, 7 – Laguna Beach, 8 – Rim of the World, 9 – Fillmore, 10 – Covina.
For more information, visit the girls’ website at www.lbxc.org and the boys’ at www.lagunabeachcrosscountry.com.
GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL (2-7, 1-7)
Laguna was no match for Southern California’s number one squad as Newport Harbor prevailed 27-0 on Sept. 27 at the winner’s field.
Laguna came back on Monday, Oct. 2, to defeat Fountain Valley 14-6. Laguna quarterback Ava Gonzalez was 32 for 48 attempts in passing for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Kaylyn Stringham caught 13 passes for 123 yards, scoring both touchdowns and both extra points. On defense, Lia Golden led with 11 tackles and the team picked off four passes from the Barons, with Stringham snagging two. Breakers held the visitors to no first downs in the second half.
GIRLS GOLF (2-6, 0-3):
Laguna hosted Newport Harbor on Sept. 28 at Ben Brown’s in their second Wave League match of the season. The Tars won the encounter 212-239, with the medalist Malia Cottriel from the visitors posting a score of even par 32 to top all participants. The low score for Laguna came from sophomore Spencer Anderson with a 42. Additional scores for Laguna included Julianna Franconi-Krychman (43), Luxy Bynum (45), Chiara Berman (53) and Alani Sciacca (56).
On Oct. 3, Laguna played a Wave League match against Edison at Ben Browns, par 32, with the Chargers winning 178-214. The match’s low score and medalist honors went to Kelsey Coppa from Edison with an even-par 32.
Laguna had a good day overall, tying their season’s best score at Ben Browns. The low scorer for the Breakers was senior Julianna Franconi-Krychman, with a career-low score of 37. Sophomore Glory Belland also shot her career-low score with a 42, and senior Luxy Bynum tied her career-low score with a 41. Savannah Wald (46) and Spencer Anderson (48) rounded out the other scores for Laguna.
GIRLS TENNIS (9-3):
Sept 28: Corona del Mar 12, Laguna 6
The D-1 #9 ranked Sea Queens took 8 of 9 doubles sets to defeat Laguna. The Breaker’s #2 doubles team of Kendyl Beresford/Ryan Levine won the only set 6-4 and narrowly lost two others 4-6, 6-7. Overall, it was closer than the score indicates.
Oct. 3: at Huntington Beach 10, Laguna 8
Breakers continued to suffer in doubles against the better D-1 teams, and none of the 10 sets lost at Huntington were close.
Sunset Wave League play begins on Oct. 5 with Edison on the home courts. Next week, they travel to Marina on Oct. 10 and Newport Harbor on Oct. 12.
2023 SSCIF D-2 Poll- Oct. 2: 1 – Calabasas, 2 – Santa Barbara, 3 – Great Oak, 4 – Agoura, 5 – Orange Lutheran, 6 – Temecula Valley, 7 – Crescenta Valley, 8 – Vista Murrieta, 9 – Cypress, 10 – Dos Pueblos, Others: Archer School, Crossroads, Laguna Beach, San Clemente.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL (7-18, 3-1)
Breakers stayed in the hunt for a playoff spot with an easy 25-20, 25-9, 25-6 sweep of Fountain Valley on Tuesday, Oct. 3 in Dugger Gym. Laguna servers went on runs, amassing 14 aces, with Meg Gardner and Kyra Zaengle each getting five. Kyra led in kills with 11 while Coco Black had 10 digs and Hayes Frith 15 assists.
Post-season hopes came down to a Thursday road game at Marina (14-10, 1-2) on Oct. 5.
Last week, Laguna played So Cal’s #3 team, Huntington Beach (25-6), in a non-league match on Thursday, Sept. 28, at the Oilers Gym, with the hosts winning 26-24, 25-18, 25-12. Breakers were missing their kill-leading outside hitter Kyra Zaengle but were able to challenge Huntington with eight blocks for points in the first set.
For the match, Laguna set an all-time team match record with 12 net blocks in the three-set contest. The old record was 10, set against four different teams, the last one being Los Alamitos in 2019.
D1/D2 Poll for 10-2: 1 – Mater Dei, 2 – Mira Costa, 3 – Huntington Beach, 4 – Sierra Canyon, 5 – Los Alamitos, 6 – Alemany, 7 – Palos Verdes, 8 – Redondo Union, 9 – Marymount, 10 – Orange Lutheran, 11 – J Serra, 12 – Oaks Christian, 13 – Santa Margarita, 14 – Long Beach Wilson, 15 – Edison, 16 – San Juan Hills
The top 8 will be placed in D1, while the balance of the 43-team division will be considered for the D2 playoffs. Brackets will be released on Saturday, Oct. 14, before 11 a.m.
You can catch all the video match highlights on the team’s Max Preps page.
BOYS SAND VOLLEYBALL
(4-2, 1-2)
Breakers faced JSerra this past Wednesday on Main Beach – Results will be in next week’s wrap-up.
Up next: league matches at 3:30 p.m. at Main Beach
Oct. 11: Crean Lutheran
Oct. 10 to 18: Mater Dei
BOYS WATER POLO (10-7, 0-2)
Laguna was no match for #2 Newport Harbor, falling to the Tars 16-9 in a Sunset Surf League contest played at Newport on Sept. 27. Cade Anderton led the Breakers with four goals with three by Diego Audebert and single scores by Max Sauers and Eli Taub.
On Saturday, Sept. 30, the squad hosted Carlsbad and the local pool and defeated San Diego’s #3 team, 13-9. Eli Taub, Diego Audebert, and Cade Anderton each scored in the opening minutes as Laguna jumped out to a 5-1 lead and were never threatened.
Up next: Breakers traveled to Los Alamitos on Oct. 4 in a Sunset Surf match and will be facing D-1 Alta Loma on Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Pomona-Pitzer pool in Claremont for a non-league contest.
In the next two weeks, Laguna travels for league matches with Huntington Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 11 and Newport Harbor on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Have a note or question about Laguna sports? E-mail Frank at [email protected]. Looking for the 2023-24 High School schedules and scores? Check Laguna Beach High School on the Max Preps website.
