Week 9 gets off to dramatic start

There was plenty of drama in South County on Thursday night as Laguna Hills was trying to put the finishing touches on its first undefeated regular season in school history.

The Hawks found themselves locked in a 13-13 deadlock with Irvine at halftime, but Derek Browning got a 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and they held on to defeat the Vaqueros, 20-13, at Irvine High.

The Hawks have a bye next week, so they finished 9-0 overall and 4-0 in league to take the Pacific Coast League championship.

Westminster cruised to a 45-7 victory over Orange to clinch at least a share of its fifth consecutive Golden West League championship. The Lions notched their 26th consecutive league victory.

Los Amigos moved a step closer to a Garden Grove League title with a 40-14 victory over Bolsa Grande. If Santiago gets past Garden Grove on Friday night it sets up a Los Amigos-Santiago showdown for the league championship on Nov. 14.

Cypress clinched at least a share of the Empire League title with a 40-0 shutout of Katella. The Centurions can win the title outright with a victory over Pacifica next week. It's the first for Cypress since 1998 and the third in school history.

Foothill clinched at least a share of the Sea View League championship with a 56-28 victory over Northwood.

Come back to the OCVarsity blog on Friday night for Steve Fryer's "FryDay Night" coverage, which will include "The Battle for the Bell" between Edison and Fountain Valley, the next chapter in the Esperanza-Los Alamitos rivalry and the Freeway League throwdown between La Habra and Fullerton.

Contact the writer: carias@ocregister.com