First game could decide league crown

The Laguna Beach football team might be rolling along at 5-0, but on Friday it’s the start of a whole new season.

And it’s the most important part of the 2011 campaign.

This is the week that the Orange Coast League race begins, where all five league members start out on equal footing. Laguna begins its quest for an OCL championship at 7 p.m. at Guyer Field. To get to the top of the heat, one team the Breakers will need to get past is Estancia, the league’s defending champion. The Breakers and Eagles (3-2) square off Friday in a game that is certain to go a long way in determining the league’s 2011 champ.

What’s more, it’s a showdown that pits the CIF Southern Section Southern Division’s fifth-ranked team (Laguna) against the sixth-ranked team (Estancia).

It’s also Laguna’s homecoming game.

“We’ve been talking about it all week,” Laguna Coach Mike Churchill. “No question that they (Estancia) are a pretty darn good team. But we’re pretty good, too. It’s a big opening night game for both teams.”

Laguna is returning home for the first time in three weeks following a two-game road swing. Two weeks ago, the Breakers defeated Mary Star of the Sea in San Pedro. Last Friday, they traveled to Fontana, where they overwhelmed Jurupa Hills, 56-14. The Breakers rolled up 466 yards of offense, with 319 coming on the ground. The defense yielded just 173 total yards and gave up just one score (Jurupa Hills scored its first touchdown on a fumble return).

Drake Martinez rushed for 178 yards on 19 carries and scored three times and Norton Penney, who had an interception on defense, ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to lead the run game. Martinez also had a big hit from his safety position on defense in the third quarter that Churchill said “pumped up” the Breakers. Jurupa Hills quarterback Damion Wright took off around end and started upfield but was met by Martinez, who planted Wright on the spot.

“It was a big play for us and kind of woke us up,” Churchill said. “We started the game really good, but hit a flat spot at the tail end of the second quarter. We had the lead at halftime, but Drake’s play seemed to get us going again.

“We’re getting better on defense, and that’s what’s important.”

Laguna quarterback Larry Stewart also had a big game, completing seven of nine passes for 148 yards and two touchdown passes to Derek Reigel (his only two receptions of the game) and one to Martinez.

“We let Larry loose and he did real well.” Churchill said. “We haven’t really opened up our passing game this year, but Larry can throw real well and a great thing about him is that he has such a great attitude. All he cares about is getting the win, and that’s what you want in a quarterback.”

Kicker Robbie McInerny went into the Laguna record books Friday. His eight point-after conversions against Jurupa Hills tied his own record for most PATs in a single game. McInerny had set the record less than a month ago during a 73-40 win over Ocean View on Sept. 17.

McInerny now has 34 PATs on the season, which is a single-season school record. The old mark, 30, was set in 1968 by Steve Wiezbowski.

In five games, Martinez has rushed for 861 yards (13.27 avg.), Penney 493 yards (10.96 avg.), Robert Clemons 332 yards (16.60 avg) and Nathan Lancaster for 230 yards (12.78 avg.). As a team, the Breakers have rushed 181 times for 2,083 yards.

“Our guys need to stay steady and not give up the big play in their Wing-T formation,” Estancia Coach Mike Bargas said. “Laguna Beach is a good football team and it should be a really great game, a slugfest. I think the game could be decided in the trenches.”

Estancia comes into the game with a 3-2 record, both losses close calls against University (30-22) and last week, 12-10, against defending Southern Division champion and second-ranked Beckman. One of the Eagles’ three wins was a Sept. 29, 43-27, home upset of a Northwood team that at the time was the No. 3-ranked team in the Southern Division.

The Eagles have several players back from last year’s league title team and their offense is fueled by running back Robert Murtha. The junior has rushed for 608 yards (6.1 avg.) and four touchdowns. Quarterback Brad Wilson has thrown for 559 yards and nine touchdowns, with a completion rate of 53.8%. The junior has been intercepted three times.

“They lost to two really good teams and are defending league champs, so we know how good they are,” Churchill said of the Eagles.”They have the Player of the Year (Murtha) back who is an exceptional running back. He has great acceleration and they want to get him out on the perimeter where he can find an alley and take off. Their quarterback (Wilson) is also playing well and their offensive line is just massive.”

Laguna, which has opened the season with five straight wins for the first time since 2001, has scored 55 or more points in a game for the fourth time in five outings. A win over Estancia would allow Laguna to open a season with six wins for the first time since 1986.

Once the Breakers are finished with Estancia, they’ll have a short week to get ready for their next league test, a Thursday date with Calvary Chapel at Estancia High’s Jim Scott Stadium.

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Twitter: @MikeSciacca