Segerstrom begins quest for Big Four League title hosting Garden Grove Friday night

Senior Andrew Schouw is Segerstrom’s top receiver. (Photo courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone)

Segerstrom’s undefeated football team, which had a bye last week, is back in action Friday night hosting Garden Grove in the Big Four League opener.

The Jaguars (7-0) are aiming for a victory which would be their first step toward securing a league crown.

In the final week of last season, Garden Grove defeated Segerstrom 21-14 in overtime to secure the title.

This year, Segerstrom (7-0) looks to be the favorite to win the league but Marina (5-2) and Garden Grove (3-4) are hoping to contend too. Westminster is 1-6.

“I believe the key to this game is limiting our mental mistakes,” said Segerstrom Coach Joseph Tagaloa. “Coming off the bye week, our emphasis has been the mental preparation to this game. Both offensively and defensively we have fine tuned some things so that we are playing at a higher level going into league play.  We know that they are big and physical, so we have to match their intensity and play Jaguar football.”

The Jaguars will also be at full strength, Tagaloa said.

“This is the first week we are going into a game with all our players available,” he said. “We had some injuries earlier in the summer with some of our role players, who come back this week. Both of our quarterbacks (Angel Vega and Andrew Contreras) will be suited and ready to go. Iverson Fuiava has worked his way back into shape since his return, so I am excited to see us play at full force.”

Fuiava missed the first couple of games after suffering a pulled hamstring in the summer, according to Tagaloa. He returned and only played offense, then on defense vs. Laguna Hills.

“Getting him back at as close to 100 percent should make a big difference overall,” Tagaloa said.

Segerstrom’s two quarterbacks Vega and Contreras have put up solid numbers. Vega has passed for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns while Contreras has thrown for 571 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Jaguars top running backs are Nathan Tagaloa, who has rushed for 211 yards and four touchdowns and Jacob Rodriguez, who has rushed for 250 yards on 23 carries. Vega has rushed for 190 yards on 33 carries.

Top receivers include Andrew Schouw, who has 13 catches for 256 yards and four touchowns; Rodriguez, who has 10 catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns and Fuiava, who has nine catches for 199 yards and three touchdowns.

Garden Grove is coming off consecutive losses to Western and Laguna Hills, both by 35-0 scores.

The Argonauts are led by quarterback Czain Lobaugh and running back Clint Hutchinson.

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