What a week already: Beckman football, Natalie Castro and Patrick McMorris in the spotlight

Beckman players charge out onto the field for Thursday’s game with Portola.

It’s been quite a week of football already…..

Beckman’s football team has won three games in a row, including a 37-13 victory over Portola Thursday night in the Pacific Coast League opener.

Could the Patriots be in the running for the league title?

Beckman looks like it has a very good defense and the Patriots certainly have some offensive weapons too, led by quarterback Jason Cheng, running back Jett Daviss and all-purpose player Nick Hill.

“Of course, I’m hoping to be a factor,” said Beckman Coach Marcello Giuliano of his team’s chances. “It’s just that everyone in the league is good and I think that if the past is any guide, we have to get a lot better to compete because I know Irvine has great athletes, Woodbridge has great athletes, Northwood has great athletes and Uni has great athletes. So we’re going to have to continue to improve if we’re going to truly compete (for the title).”

Giuliano also expressed respect for Portola before the Patriots met the Bulldogs Thursday night.

Some other football notes:

…….Portola football coach Peter Abe remained upbeat after his team’s loss to Beckman Thursday night. Abe knows that this is a process for his young team which is competing in varsity football for the first time. The Bulldogs certainly battled until the end against Beckman. “I think we’re going to be excited next week when he get done watching this film, Uni next week,” he said. “We’re very excited and hope we can put on a good show.”

Portola was without one of its top running backs Russell Sung, who is out with an injury. Abe is hoping he will be back next week against Uni at Portola.

Former Irvine coach Terry Henigan, who was Abe’s coach when he played at Irvine, was among those on hand to see Portola’s first game in the PCL Thursday night.

…It’s going to be an exciting night tonight at Segerstrom when homecoming is held. The Jaguars placekicker Natalie Castro is among the candidates for homecoming queen and she will be in her uniform when the ceremony is held.

Castro has certainly earned the respect of her teammates and coaches. She has been with the varsity since her sophomore year but had to sit out some time after knee surgery.

“She is one of the people who even after having knee surgery came out here every day,” said Coach Joseph Tagaloa. “She worked however hard she could and gave us everything she had. Now it is her senior year, and she has a chance to get back into the starting lineup so it’s a testament to her desirte to get out here and compete and everybody she can get it done just as well as anybody else.

The game against Artesia starts at 7 p.m.

….Now we know why Santa Ana football fans were so excited about Patrick McMorris, the former Godinez standout, joining the team. McMorris had four touchdowns in the Saints 79-0 victory over Costa Mesa Thursday night. Clearly, Santa Ana and Orange are the class of the Orange League. The two teams meet on Friday, Oct. 26 at the Santa Ana Bowl. That should be quite a game and it will likely be for the league title.

….Orange’s football team is off to a 4-1 start. The Panthers host Saddleback Saturday night at 7 at El Modena. By the way, Santa Ana and Orange are in different CIF playoff divisions. Santa Ana is in Division 8 and Orange Division 9.

….That’s just a sampling…We have much more on OC Sports Zone including coverage of two Pacific Coast League football …match-ups tonight: Irvine vs. Woodbridge and Northwood vs. University. And remember, we have a scoreboard ticker at the top of our site for our fans.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone