LAGUNA BEACH – Laguna Beach intercepted six passes Friday night and might have picked off a playoff berth in the process.
Sean Nolan had three of the interceptions, kicked two field goals and scored a touchdown as the Breakers beat Calvary Chapel, 39-14, to clinch second place in the Orange Coast League and a possible spot in the Division 13 playoffs.
Only 16 spots are available in the 85-team division, but the runner-up finish and a healthy ranking might get the Breakers into their first postseason since 2012. The field will be announced Sunday.
Curtis Harrison threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as Laguna Beach (6-4, 4-1), under first-year coach John Shanahan, completed a turnaround from last year’s 2-8 season. Harrison ran 18 times for 63 yards and hit 14 of 27 passes for 184 yards.
Adam Armstrong caught five of those passes for 49 yards and also had two of the interceptions as Laguna Beach came back from an early 6-0 deficit to take control. Matt Hayes had the other interception and ran for 58 yards, much of that in the fourth quarter when he scored the game’s final points on a 24-yard run.
Calvary Chapel (3-7, 3-2) had a shot at the second-place finish and a possible playoff berth in Division 12. Sam Lak passed for 287 yards for the Eagles, including a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Carnevale just 2:55 into the game for a 6-0 lead. But the senior quarterback hit just eight of his first 26 passes and threw four interceptions in the first half.
Laguna Beach took the lead for good at 7-6 on Harrison’s 5-yard run midway through the first quarter. Nolan followed with field goals of 32 and 33 yards for a 13-7 lead at the quarter break.
Calvary scored on a safety when Harrison was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. But he came back with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Knill for a 20-8 halftime lead.
The Breakers pulled away on third-quarter touchdown catches of 31 yards by John Langton and 10 yards by Nolan.
Lak hit Kaden Headington with a 36-yard touchdown pass for Calvary Chapel’s final points midway through the third quarter. Headington had four catches for 108 yards.
