Beckman gets ready for PCL play with 24-0 victory over Esperanza

Beckman coach Marcello Giuliano talks to his team after a victory earlier this year against Crean Lutheran at Tustin.

Beckman’s football team gained some momentum for the start of Pacific Coast League play with a 24-0 victory over Esperanza Friday night at Tustin.

The Patriots (3-2) open league play hosting Beckman Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Tustin.

To see the slide show, please click on the first photo.

Beckman was led by senior running back Omar Abdullah, who had 126 yards rushing and one touchdown and 50 yards receiving on four catches.

The Patriots’ top defensive player was junior outside linebacker Blake Parker, who according to Coach Marcello Giuliano, “played his best game. He really improved his physicality in taking on blocks and setting the edge of our defense, enabling our pursuit to get ball carriers on the ground.”

The special teams was also solid.

“Kicker Jamar Coleman had a terrific night punting that kept the Aztecs in poor field position,” Giuliano said.

The coach was also impressed with Beckman’s defense.

“Our defense played really solid, creating three turnovers and keeping Esperanza scoreless on two red zone drives,” Giuliano said. 

“Dylan Somoza’s interception to end the first half enabled us to keep a little momentum even though we had scored only three points.  The offense squandered a couple of good scoring opportunities in the first half, but improved in the second. We did a reasonably good job possessing the football, but we need to be able to finish drives more productively at times.”

Now, Beckman gets ready to take on Portola (2-3). The Bulldogs, coached by Peter Abe, had a bye last week. It will be Portola’s first game in the Pacific Coast League.

“Portola is a very well coached and aggressive team,” Giuliano said. “They will be healthy and fresh off the bye week, and I know they will have a great plan to disrupt and attack us. We will need to play great defense to keep up with their tempo and misdirection, and we need to improve our execution on offense to handle their size and speed on defense.

“The new league alignment promises to be great fun since all these kids and coaches are familiar with each other.”