Breakers surge ahead

Alec Jaffe said he had an idea of what he was doing when he heard his dad yell to him from the stands.

It was just halftime of the Laguna Beach High football team’s Orange Coast League game against Calvary Chapel on Oct. 23, and Jaffe already had more than 200 yards rushing.

“When I heard him say that I knew I was within a shot of getting the record,” Jaffe said.

He did, finishing with a Breakers single-game rushing record of 361 yards as the Breakers pasted the Eagles, 56-24, at Guyer Field.

Jaffe also had four touchdowns for Laguna Beach, which improved to 3-4 and, more importantly, 2-0 in the Orange Coast League.

“I have to credit my offensive line and fullback Ethan Quirarte, and just hard work I put in during the off-season,” Jaffe said of his big night. The Breakers’ offensive line includes seniors Ryan Raffo, Chris Hilleman and Drew Gerhold, junior Taylor Preston and sophomore Ricki De La Torre.

The Breakers played hard, helping Jaffe break Zach Smith’s 309-yard mark set last year. The single-game record was once held by Coach Jonathan Todd, who still holds the season record of 1,480 yards set in 1986.

Junior quarterback Austin Paxson ran for a touchdown and threw two more to junior receiver Chris Paul in the first half for Laguna Beach. Paul’s 13 touchdown catches lead Orange County receivers and he’s second with 43 catches and 622 yards.

With the 13 touchdown catches, Paul also breaks the all-time Breakers record for touchdowns caught in a season. Jake Wheeler previously held it, catching 12 touchdown passes in 2003. Sophomore Derek Reigel added a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Breakers, who have rebounded after losing four of five nonleague games.

“It was tough because we want to win ever week and want to be playing our best,” said Jaffe, also the starting strong safety. “We just knew that by the time we got everyone healthy we could be the team we had the potential to be.”

The team takes a break from league games this week to play host to Oak Hills (5-2), a freelance team from Hesperia.

Then, it’s back to Orange Coast League play as the Breakers try for their first league title since 2006. They play at Estancia on Nov. 6 and play host to defending champ Costa Mesa on Nov. 13.

Many of the seniors have never beat Costa Mesa, losing to them on the frosh-soph level as freshmen, as well as the past two years on varsity.

“I’m really excited for that game,” Jaffe said.

Jaffe’s Big Night

Laguna Beach football single-game rushing leaders:

361 – Alec Jaffe vs. Calvary Chapel, Oct. 23, 2009

309 – Zach Smith vs. Costa Mesa, Nov. 14, 2008

295 – Jody Stevens vs. Calvary Chapel, Nov. 10, 2005