Laguna Hills was represented by (from left) Troy Leigber, Kaden Austin, Coach John Lester, Nathan Auten and Vinnie Garcia Monday at the Rose Bowl. (Photos courtesy Laguna Hills athletics).
Members of the Laguna Hills High School football team and coach John Lester visited the Rose Bowl, the home of the UCLA Bruins, for Monday’s CIF press conference in prepararation for the Division 7 championship game this week.
The Rose Bowl will be the site of the Division 1 championship game Friday night between Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.
Laguna Hills, the No. 2 team from the Pacific Coast League, take on Golden Valley Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the CIF Division 7 championship game at Canyon High School in Canyon Country in what will be the program’s fourth CIF finals game.
Laguna Hills is 12-1 while Golden Valley is 9-4 and will be making the second appearance in school history in the finals.
“Yesterday was a great day to celebrate the accomplishments of our team this season,” Lester said Tuesday. “It is incredibly difficult to reach the finals and we are very proud of the way our guys have played this year. Getting to celebrate at the Rose Bowl was a great experience.”
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Lester said his players are looking forward to the game.
“Golden Valley plays in a tough league and they are battle tested,” Lester said. “Ajani Smith is a great receiver and defensive back. He will be tough to stop. The also have a good mobile quarterback in Christopher Melkonian.”
Melkonian has thrown for more than 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 10 touichdowns.
“We have to contain him,” Lester said. “On defense, they are very fast. Their middle linebacker Malachi Beacham, who makes a lot of plays.
“We will need a big game from our defense to win the championship. We also need a consistent performance from our offense staying balanced.”
Laguna Hills is led by running back Troy Leigber, who has rushed for 2,133 yards and scored 44 touchdowns. He and Northwood’s Adam Harper have been battling for the top spot in rushing yards all season.
The Hawks will also look to quarterback Kaden Austin, who has thrown for 1,108 yards, to lead the way.
It marks the first CIF championship game for Laguna Hills since 2008, when the Hawks, coached by Bruce Ingalls, defeated Mayfair 28-21 at Cerritos College to win the CIF Southern Division title.
“We were led by Robert Refsnyder at quarterback and Derek Browning at running back,” Lester said. “On defense we were led by Shawn Tucker and Matt Martindale. This Saturday is a great opportunity to make history and win our fourth CIF title.”
Golden Valley will be going for its first CIF title.
Laguna Hills is one of two Pacific Coast League teams going for CIF titles. Northwood, led by JC Clarke, is in the CIF Division 8 championship game against Lakewood Saturday night.
RELATED:
CIF championship schedule for Orange County teams
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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