Breakers, Matadors meet tonight

Mike Sciacca

The celebration surrounding Laguna Beach High’s season-opening

victory last Friday night over La Quinta was but a memory on Monday,

as the Breakers returned to school to begin a new work week on the

practice field.

They headed out to practice on this warm afternoon, beginning a

week’s worth of preparation for tonight’s opponent, Bolsa Grande, who

will battle the Breakers at Guyer Field.

Laguna Beach will try to ride the momentum generated by last

week’s 40-12 pasting of La Quinta when the teams kick off at 7 p.m.

“We’ve had a good week of practice and we’re hoping to pick up

where we left off last week,� Breakers coach Dave Holland said. “It

was a nice way to begin the season, certainly, but now we have to

concentrate on the game at hand.�

Laguna Beach was able to open up the 2002 season on a winning note

behind a tenacious defense and the running of Donnelle Darling.

The Breakers controlled the line of scrimmage against La Quinta

throughout much of the game. They limited the Aztecs to just three

first half first downs, and didn’t surrender their first points until

the fourth quarter.

Darling, meanwhile, rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns.

Bolsa Grande, which went 0-10 in 2001, opened the new season with

a 21-6 loss to Century.

The Matadors are led by junior quarterback Jonathan Gonzalez (5-8,

175), senior running back and defensive back Christian Allanique

(6-0, 205), senior lineman Pedro Perez (5-8, 250) and senior receiver

Sylvester Jefferson (6-4, 230), who scored Bolsa Grande’s lone

touchdown against Century on an 11-yard pass from Gonzalez.

“They’ve struggled recently but Bolsa Grande has three or four

really good football players,� Holland said. “Regardless of what

Bolsa has done, our kids just need to stay focused on our game plan,

and that means being ready for our opponent.�