One big play, solid defense helps Laguna Beach edge Northwood in league opener

Laguna Beach quarterback Jackson Kollock (right) and receiver Luke Jolley teamed up for the biggest offensive play of the game. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Laguna Beach and Northwood football teams had quite a battle Friday night in one of the openers of the new Foxtrot League at Irvine Stadium.

Laguna Beach, by virtue of one big play, a 78-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jackson Kollock to wide receiver Luke Jolley midway into the second quarter, emerged with a 7-6 victory in a meeting between two teams who were undefeated.

There were plenty of other exciting plays and defensive stops and a couple of missed scoring opportunities by Northwood (5-1, 0-1) in a well played game which featured few penalties. Laguna Beach (6-0, 1-0) was able to run out the clock with a couple first downs in the final seven minutes of the contest.

“We have suffered so many injuries up front on the offensive line, we’re just not in rhythm and we’re really struggling,” said Laguna Beach Coach John Shanahan. “We will figure it out, Jackson didn’t play great tonight but he did some things that were important late in the game, made some good throws and made some good decisions to get that really long drive in the end.

“But we’re playing really good defense and we did a tremendous job on special teams. We just have to find a way to execute a little better on offense, we can be a pretty good football team.”

To see additional photos, click on the first picture:

Kollock wound up completing 20 of 31 passes for 218 yards, including the TD he will likely remember for a while.

“It was just a great defensive performance,” said Kollock, who has committed to University of Minnesota. “It’s really hard to lose football games when your defense plays like that. The O-line at the end put it together with a seven minute drive, just pounding the ball. I could not be more proud of those guys.”

Kollock was able to hook up with Jolley for what turned out to be the game-winner.

“I saw one on one coverage, I had to give it up to my guy. He made a great play going up and getting the ball and put it in the end zone,” Kollock said. “That was all him right there, I just had to feed him the ball.”

“The play was take a shot on third down with eight yards to go …. it was a little underthrown so I came back for it, got it and kept on going,” added Jolley, who also intercepted a pass early in the third quarter.

Northwood missed a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter but the Timberwolves cut the lead to 7-6 when quarterback Gavin Lounsbury scored from two yards out on a keeper. However, the Timberwolves missed the point after and went into the locker-room down by a point.

Laguna Beach’s defense remained tough in the second half. But Northwood had a chance to go ahead with about seven minutes to go in the game.

The Timberwolves lined up for a 35-yard field goal, but the snap was low. Lounsbury, who was the holder, alertly picked up the ball and connected with Cole Hidalgo on a pass. But Northwood came up two yards short of a first down and turned the ball over.

The Breakers were then able to get some first downs after taking possession and Northwood eventually ran out of timeouts and could not stop the clock.

Northwood was led by Joseph Harper who made some big tackles on defense, had an interception and rushed for 96 yards on 15 carries. Lounsbury passed for 78 yards and Hidalgo also had an interception.

“They battled great, I loved it,” said Northwood Coach JC Clarke. “It’s an honor to be a high school football coach and to coach kids who give their heart and soul out there. That team was averaging 42 points a game and that was a beautiful throw (the TD pass) but that was just one play.

“It was a good clean game and not a lot of bad plays by either team, just good, high school football. I was hoping for a game in the twenties or something, I’m so happy as a defensive coach we held them to six.”

Harper was hoping to get his first win against Laguna Beach in his career, noting that he saw that Laguna Beach was heavily favored going into the game.

“I haven’t beaten them all my time in high school,” Harper said. “Going into this one, I was really looking forward to playing these guys. We’ve played them for three years straight and we really wanted this W. We haven’t been playing well and had a couple close games, so going into this, we really wanted to show what we were all about.

“They’ve been averaging probably about 30 or 40 points a game, and we hold them to seven, missed field goal, missed extra point, I’m just proud of how the guys played, that quarterback is a four-star, he’s going places, he’s got a great arm and they have a great offense, you can’t be mad about that. We just got to finish games and move on to the next and get better.”

—-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com