LAGUNA BEACH – Laguna Beach’s new coach, Ted Clarke, wanted his team to do the little things in its opener Friday night. But his young team didn’t give itself much of a chance to do those things as it stumbled early against a potent Valley Christian of Cerritos offense.
Two costly fumbles led to three consecutive first-quarter scores by the Crusaders, who breezed past the Breakers, 50-0, at Laguna Beach.
“Our defense was great,” Valley Christian coach Woody Grayson said. “Their quarterback (Jack Simon) is a very, very good player. He gave us some trouble, but our defense adjusted and offensively we were able to get some big plays. It was a pretty clean game for us.”
Quarterback Jesse Smith led the Crusaders, throwing for 191 yards and three touchdowns on eight completions. He had a sizable corps of receivers at his disposal – three of whom had more than 30 yards receiving.
The Crusaders led, 41-0, at halftime.
Laguna Beach showed glimmers of defense in the first half. With the Breakers trailing by a touchdown and the Crusaders on Laguna Beach’s 7-yard line, defensive end Zach Fields sacked Smith and forced a fumble for a turnover.
But Laguna Beach gave the ball right back two plays later on a fumble and the Crusaders’ Jalen Hines returned it 11 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Laguna Beach’s offense didn’t move the ball past midfield until the second quarter.
Quarterback Jack Simon, who was under heavy pressure most of the game, scrambled for 44 yards on 12 carries and completed four passes for 49 yards.
“They’re a good team,” Clarke said. “… You know what it’s a growth experience for us. From this we’re going to move forward. Just wait, we’ll make noise.”
