LAGUNA BEACH — You could see it on the field in the moments before halftime. The Laguna Beach football team was done. Toast. Finished. Their malaise was evident and clear to the homecoming crowd that gathered to watch them play for a piece of first place in the Foxtrot League.
A wide-open pass was dropped. Quarterback Jackson Kollock was sacked on consecutive plays. The Breakers had no answer to the Dana Hills score and momentum that gave the Dolphins a seven-point lead with a few minutes left in the first half.
Ah, but that’s why they play the second half.
The Breakers are the new poster boys for “bouncing back.” They shook off their first half malaise and scored on Kollock’s 11-yard pass to the backup slot, Jack Hooper, with 20 seconds remaining to score a 35-32 victory over the Dolphins.
Kollock finished 12 of 20 for 180 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for a score.
On the other sideline, Dana Hills quarterback Vanden Dugger had a night. He completed 21 of 32 for 251 yards, four touchdowns, and a first-half interception at the 16-yard line. His favorite receiver, James Leicester, caught five passes for 122 yards and a TD.
Both teams are defending league champions. Laguna Beach earned a share of first place with the win over the previously unbeaten Dolphins (8-1 overall, 3-1 in league).
The Breakers (8-1 overall, 3-1 in league) close out league play next week at home against Orange while Dana Hills will play host to Northwood, hoping for the same kind of bounce-back that the Breakers showed.
And we mean bounce back. Laguna Beach lost last week to Aliso Niguel, 34-14, and looked like it was still showing the effects from that drubbing in the first half. But it showed what kind of medicine a good second half can provide to a team that’s struggling.
“This means a ton, to overcome the injuries and the adversity this team has faced,” said John Shanahan, who in his ninth season as Laguna Beach’s coach, which includes a Southern Section title and three consecutive league championships. “We’ve got some important victories in late October and November, but this victory ranks way up there.”
And for good reason. The grit his team showed was remarkable. They looked like the wind had gone completely out of their sails at halftime. You could see it from the stands, you could see it on the sidelines. “It sure looked that way,” Shanahan said.
But in the locker room, Minnesota-bound Kollock said his team was just getting warmed up. “The first half we didn’t play to our full potential, but there wasn’t a point where I felt we were out of it,” said Kollock, who tweaked his ankle on the final drive. “We knew we had to execute and do our job.”
And did they ever. Their only offense in the first half was an 82-yard kickoff return by Charlie Hunt. Other than that, the Breakers were outgained 158-44 and Dana Hills ran 31 plays to Laguna’s 18. But halftime gave them a second wind.
Trailing 14-7 at the break, the defense got a stop on the opening possession and good field position at the Laguna 45. Kollock rifled a 22-yard scoring pass to sophomore Brady Stringham, who made a nice sliding catch across the goal line to tie the score at 14-14.
A three-and-out gave Laguna possession at the Dana Hills 46, and Kollock immediately hit Hooper for a scoring pass behind the Dolphins secondary to go ahead on the deep ball, 21-14.
Dana Hills pulled to 21-20 on Radley Geiss’s 1-yard run, though the key play was a controversial roughing the quarterback on third-and-15 to keep the 89-yard drive alive. But the point-after was blocked by Hooper to protect a 21-20 Laguna lead.
Dana Hills recovered the onside kick with Cameron Weaver catching the ball in stride. Dugger got most of the 47 yards on the first play, a 46-yard completion too Leicester. Laguna stuffed the run twice before Dugger hit Chuck Eckl for a 1-yard score. The 2-point conversion was intercepted by Stringham but Dana Hills led, 26-21, with 7:58 left in the game.
Seven plays later, Kollock ran into the end zone from 3 yards. The 2-point conversion failed but now Laguna had a 27-26 lead with 6:30 remaining.
Dana answered in resounding fashion. Dugger connected on three consecutive passes, of 20, 26, and 29 yards – the last to Leicester to go up, 32-27, following the failed 2-point attempt with 5:26 left in the game.
That set the stage for the game-winning drive, 69 yards in 11 plays as the Breakers moved the ball downfield and and the clock inside the minute mark. On fourth-and-4 from the 11, Kollock passed to Hooper on the right sideline, who broke a tackle at the 5 and scored with 20 seconds remaining. A pass to Hooper was good on the conversion to make it 35-32.
“I thought we could get a stop,” said Dana Hills coach Tony Henney. “We didnt convert the 2-point conversions, we had a kick blocked. … Field position hurt us, but we had our chances.
“They’re a great football team. They are who they are, and they’re very good at it.”
