Senior quarterback Austin Shepard had a big night for Beckman. (Photos: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Beckman High School’s football team took control on the first play of the game Thursday night against Bolsa Grande and never looked back, defeating the Matadors 62-0 in a nonleague game at Bolsa Grande.
It was the second shutout in a row for the Beckman defense. The Patriots offense, led by quarterback Austin Shepard, is also rolling, scoring 116 points in two games.
On the opening kickoff, Beckman’s Noah Czaykowski bolted 62 yards to the Bolsa Grande 12-yard line.
Four plays later, Shepard faked a handoff and raced in for a 3-yard TD score. Beckman went on to lead 49-0 at halftime and the second half was played with a running clock.
To see additional photos, click on the first picture:
In one half, Shepard completed 9 of 12 for 178 yards and four touchdowns. The Patriots substituted freely in the second half.
Beckman Coach Marcello Giuliano was pleased with Shepard’s second start at quarterback.
“Mostly, it speaks for itself, a bunch of great decisions, last week he threw a bunch of beautiful balls and I think the biggest thing is, yes he threw the ball well tonight but a lot of great decisions in the run game as well,” Giuliano said. “He handled the offense at the line of scrimmage like a very workman-like performance in some way and in other ways, just a lights out performance.”
But the coach also took pride in the defensive effort, which held Bolsa Grande (1-1) to 98 yards in total offense. The Patriots also forced two fumbles by the Matadors and blocked a punt.
“The defense is playing well, we ended up having to replace more guys than we thought defensively and these guys have come along and learned a lot, the D-line is doing a great job,” he said. “They work hard in practice, they’re trying to learn the system and obviously they’ve been able to execute the game plan the last couple of weeks.
“Last week, our heart and soul of our defense Miles Park, he dominated on defense, this week he got hurt before we could even get out on defense.”
The coach was also pleased with linemen Lucas Morgan, Drexel Gibson, Sebastian Arciniega, Nick Fernandez, freshman Zak Hazboun and safeties Noah Czaykowski and Nick Molina.
Shepard threw the ball with accuracy and also showed the ability to run picking up 42 yards.
“I think it starts with the receivers and the running backs and the linemen,” Shepard said. “Some of my favorite receivers were C.J. Bertoni, Sean O’Rourke, they’ve been working every week. I think in practice, we’ve really developed a lot and we’ve been able to throw the long ball.
“But I think it’s more the versatility of our offense. When we play as a team, we can be great, just like you saw tonight.”
Beckman moved out to a 14-0 lead on a 34-yard TD pass from Shepard to Sean O’Rourke. The Patriots exploded for 35 points in the second quarter.
Maki Czaykowski scored on a 2-yard run, Noah Czaykowski hauled in a 35-yard TD catch, Makhi Czaykowski scored on a 7-yard TD run, Molina caught a 9-yard TD pass and CJ Bertoni a 28-yard TD pass.
Blake Fleming (25 yards) and Nathan Garcia (15 yards) had touchdown runs in the second half.
Aidan Tran rushed for 42 yards on three carries and Makhi Czaykowski had 32 yards on five carries in one half for the Patriots, who opened the season with a 54-0 win over Santa Ana Valley.
Bolsa Grande was led by quarterback Ethan Nguyen who passed for 42 yards and rushed for 52, including a big gain in the final minute. Bolsa Grande advanced the ball to the Beckman 10 but time ran out.
––Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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