SANTA ANA – The scenario was set for Godinez; all the Grizzlies needed was a win in their regular-season finale to secure a second-place finish in the Orange Coast League and an automatic playoff berth.
Bryan Ibarra made sure they did just that, the senior quarterback leading Godinez to 34-17 victory over Laguna Beach on Friday night at Segerstrom High.
Godinez (6-4, 4-1) used a bruising ground game that revolved around Ibarra and Andy Sosa to post a 20-point first quarter.
Godinez asserted its dominance at the line of scrimmage on its first drive, needing just five plays to score. Ibarra ran the ball on four of those plays, including a 5-yard touchdown.
Ibarra and Sosa took turns with the ball on the second drive, which resulted in another Ibarra score that made it 14-0.
Sosa’s touchdown midway through the second quarter gave Godinez a 27-0 cushion, and Izak Verduzco broke free for a 56-yard TD run to extend the margin to 34-0 with 9:51 left in the third quarter.
Laguna Beach scored the game’s last 17 points.
Simon got the Breakers (2-8, 0-5) on the scoreboard with a 2-yard keeper late in the third quarter. On the next play from scrimmage, Ibarra was penalized for intentional grounding in the end zone. The result of that infraction was a safety for Laguna Beach that made it 34-9.
The Breakers struck again when Curtis Harrison scored from the 1, but Godinez was never in any real jeopardy of surrendering its lead.
In addition to wrapping up a second-place finish, Godinez finished the regular season having won three in a row and four of its last five going into the playoffs.
CIF-SS playoff pairings will be announced on Sunday.
