Pacifica football team takes two steps forward in defending Empire League title

Pacifica coach Vinnie Lopez talks with quarterback Sean Blake Thursday night.

It’s looking like it could be another very good year for Pacifica’s football team in the Empire League.

The Mariners were pretty impressive Thursday night defeating Crean Lutheran 40-13 to improve their league mark to 2-0. The Mariners made some big plays on defense and were especially tough against the rush. Pacifica had a lot of penalties, although they didn’t affect the outcome.

“We have to clean it up for next week,” said Coach Vinnie Lopez. “We’ve got Tustin and Valencia so we’ve got to clean it up without a doubt if we want to go out and defend our league championship.”

Pacifica plays at Tustin next Thursday night. Tustin opened league play last week with a 35-14 victory over Kennedy. The Tillers play at Valencia tonight.

….It’s been a tough introduction to the Empire League for Crean Lutheran’s football team, which continues to lose players with injuries. The Saints lost their league opener to Valencia 34-7 before losing on Thursday Night.

Coach Randall Reynoso remains upbeat though about his team (4-3, 0-2).

“The 22 guys we had competed, they competed,” he said after Thursday’s game at Garden Grove High. “Between last week and this week we know what the Empire League is like now and I still think we can improve as a team because we are a young team.”

….It doesn’t look like either Santa Ana or Orange will be challenged until the two football teams meet in the final week of the season for the Orange Coast League championship. Estancia is 4-2 and 1-0 in league but the other three teams have a combined 1-18 overall record.

The challenge for Santa Ana’s Charlie TeGantvoort and Orange’s Robert Pedroza will be to keep their teams focused, and not looking ahead. So far they’ve done a very good job of playing one at a time. Santa Ana kept rolling Thursday, defeating Calvary Chapel 46-7. Orange hosts Costa Mesa tonight at Fred Kelly Stadium.

…Speaking of Fred Kelly Stadium, which serves as the home field for Orange and three other teams, it will be leveled after this season and completely rebuilt, which is good news for fans in Orange and Villa Park. We had a chance to see the rundown stadium once again Saturday night. The field turf is worn out, the concrete stands don’t offer much comfort for the fans and the lights are very weak. Orange Coach Robert Pedroza said it hasn’t been determined where those teams will play next year, so there is a lot to figure out.

…The Northwood-Woodbridge Pacific Coast League football game should be entertaining tonight. Woodbridge, the PCL favorite, has the edge but Northwood is looking to surprise some people. Kick-off is at 7 p.m. at University. Please check out our coverage on OC Sports Zone and check out our score ticker at the top of the site. Also tonight, Irvine hosts Beckman at Irvine Stadium and Portola hosts University.