Irvine football uses another comeback to beat Beckman, clinch share of league title

• October 20, 2023

TUSTIN — Irvine’s football team erased a 12-point deficit to beat Beckman 20-12 Thursday and clinch a share of the Pacific Hills League championship.

The Vaqueros most recently won a league championship in 2021. Thursday was the seventh game in which Irvine has trailed and its fourth comeback win.

“We always start slow and I don’t know why,” Irvine coach Tom Ricci said. “I attribute it to my coaches making great adjustments at half and our players having a chip on their shoulder. We are a fourth-quarter team because our guys are in great shape and we played tough teams.”

Irvine (6-3, 2-0) trailed 12-0 late in the third quarter when its running game really started to click. Junior running back Brandon Figueroa had 89 of his 96 rushing yards in the second half.

“The mentality changed,” Figueroa said. “We knew we were losing because of internal mistakes and that they weren’t better than us.”

Figueroa scored the first touchdown for Irvine late in the third quarter to cut the lead for Beckman (7-2, 1-1) to 12-7.

Deacon Moss had a 31-yard punt return early in the fourth quarter to give Irvine good field position. Sophomore quarterback Sina Saferzadeh ran for a 9-yard touchdown to give Irvine the 13-12 lead.

Thursday was only the third varsity start for Saferzadeh at quarterback and he threw only 10 passes in the team’s win over Woodbridge last week.

Saferzadeh threw for just 43 yards Thursday, but the threat of him passing opened up the field for the running game to take over in the second half. He ran for 71 yards on eight carries.

“He’s picking everything up and starting to understand what we want to do,” Ricci said of Saferzadeh. “He’s a dual threat who can run, pass and read defenses like a running back.”

Figueroa ran for his second touchdown of the game midway through the fourth quarter to give the Vaqueros a 20-12 lead.

Beckman attempted a potential game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. Austin Shepard threw a 10-yard pass to CJ Bertoni on a fake punt to extend the drive.

Shepard completed two long passes to Dominic Thompson to give the Patriots the ball inside the Irvine 20.

Jackson Shaffer and Moss deflected a fourth-down pass to seal the win.

“My defensive coordinator, Kyle Jaeger, makes great adjustments at halftime,” Ricci said. “That’s part of why we feel so comfortable in the second half because we know he can fix things so quickly.”

Beckman led 6-0 at halftime after two field goals by Gui De Luca. Shepard ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter to increase the lead to 12-0.

Shepard completed 13 of 34 passes for 141 yards. Thompson had 84 yards receiving on five catches. Beckman held Irvine to just 76 yards of offense in the first half.

Irvine will host University on Friday, Oct. 27. A win would make the Vaqueros the outright league champions.

“It feels amazing to be league champs,” Figueroa said. “I was a freshman when we won it in 2021 and it feels way better to be able to contribute to it this time.”

Beckman will play on the road against Woodbridge on Friday, Oct. 27. The Patriots can still share the league championship with a win next week and an Irvine loss.

Beckman has not won a league championship since 2011.

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​ Orange County Register 

Aliso Niguel girls volleyball knocks off Corona del Mar in CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs

• October 20, 2023

NEWPORT BEACH — The Aliso Niguel girls volleyball team exploited its clear advantage at the net, got good defense from its back row and served well in a 25-16, 22-25, 25-15, 25-13 victory over Corona del Mar in an opening-round match in the CIF SS Division 2 playoffs on Thursday at Corona del Mar High School.

The unranked Wolverines (14-12), who finished in third place in the loaded South Coast League, will play No. 4 seed Orange Lutheran in a second-round match at Aliso Niguel on Saturday. Orange Luthera defeated Etiwanda in the first round Tuesday

The Sea Kings, winners of the Wave League, finished 17-12.

Aliso Niguel sophomore middle Jaslene Massey had four block assists and six kills in a four-set victory over Corona del Mar in the opening round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs on Thursday, Oct. 19. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

Aliso Niguel sophomore middle Jaslene Massey had four block assists, six kills and partnered with Gabriella Green at the net to get touches on several of the Sea Kings’ kill attempts, making it easier for the players in the back row to dig balls and set up plays for teammates at the net.

“We were able to spread out the blockers a bit,” Wolverines coach Richelle Whiting said. “So we got to isolate them (the Sea Kings) a little bit. We figured out where they wanted to set their outside and we were able to have two up on them every time.”

Whiting also had plenty of praise for Rian Barr, who was also dominant from the middle position.

Aliso Niguel’s Rian Barr had 12 kills and two blocks a victory over Corona del Mar in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs on Thursday, Oct. 19. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

Barr finished with 12 kills, all but one coming from the middle, and assisted on two blocks.

The senior delivered five kills in the fourth set, including kills for the 23rd and 24th points.

“I feel like we really started off well,” Barr said. “We had that really good first set. We kind of struggled in the second set, but I really felt like that’s what made us turn around. If we didn’t lose that second set, I don’t think we would have won the next two, because that was a motivator for us.”

Naveah Mendez had 10 kills from the left side of the net for the Wolverines.

Aliso Niguel’s Naveah Mendez had 10 kills in a victory over Corona del Mar in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs on Thursday, Oct. 19. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

“I was really pumped up,” Massey said. “Since I’m a sophomore, it’s my first CIF playoffs really. Because last year, I was a freshman on varsity and didn’t really get to play.”

Lauren Esquino led Corona del Mar with 14 kills, including seven in the second set, the only set won by the Sea Kings.

The Sea Kings played without freshman outside hitter Sofia Dajnowiec, who was out sick and is one of the team’s best players.

“We were a little out of sorts to start the game,” Sea Kings coach Baily Humes said. “We just kind of fell apart early. Our serve speed broke down. We were playing hard through the rallies, but I think we got a little flustered and kind of panicked. We just kind of looked like we weren’t ready to play.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Trevor Lawrence delivers late and Jaguars hold off Saints

• October 20, 2023

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS — Travis Etienne ran for two touchdowns, Foyesade Oluokun returned an interception for a score, and Christian Kirk’s 44-yard touchdown after a short catch over the middle lifted the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 31-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence returned from a sprained knee that forced him out of the final minutes of a victory over Indianapolis on Sunday and wound up leading Jacksonville (5-2) with 59 yards rushing. He also completed 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown to help the Jags win their fourth straight and give Jacksonville its best start since opening 5-2 in 2007.

Kirk’s touchdown broke the tie with 3:08 left. The Saints (3-4) were in position to answer when they drove inside the Jacksonville 10-yard line in the final minute, but they stalled out with four straight incomplete passes.

A third-down pass bounced off of New Orleans native Foster Moreau’s hands in the back of the end zone and a fourth-down timing throw to Chris Olave along the left sideline fell incomplete, ending the comeback bid.

Jacksonville gave the Saints numerous chances to stay in the game, losing two fumbles in the first half and committing several untimely penalties throughout the game.

It almost came back to haunt them.

The Saints rallied from 24-9 down to tie the score on touchdowns by Taysom Hill on a 1-yard, fourth-down run and Michael Thomas on a 17-yard reception – the latter followed by Derek Carr’s pass to Alvin Kamara for a 2-point conversion.

Carr finished 33 of 55 for 301 yards, and New Orleans outgained Jacksonville 407 yards to 330, but the Saints again struggled to finish promising drives in the end zone after losing in a similar fashion in Week 6 at Houston.

After practicing on a limited basis this week and being listed as questionable, Lawrence completed five of his first six passes for 60 yards and even scrambled for 9 yards during a game-opening touchdown drive that ended with Etienne’s 2-yard run.

New Orleans’ first drive ended with Blake Grupe’s missed 51-yard field goal attempt. But the Saints got the ball right back when Kirk was stripped by cornerback Paulson Adebo after a 19-yard catch at the New Orleans 40. Defensive end Carl Granderson, who was chasing the play, recovered for New Orleans.

New Orleans punted three plays later, but Jacksonville turned it over again when Tevaughn Campbell, who was trying to block, collided hard with returner Jamal Agnew as Lou Hedley’s punt descended and hit Campbell’s back.

Lonnie Johnson recovered for New Orleans, which stalled on the Jaguars’ 5 and settled for Grupe’s field goal.

Etienne became the first player in Jaguars history to rush for two touchdowns in three consecutive games when he ran around the left end for a 17-yard score that made it 14-3.

After their seventh third-down failure of the half, the Saints settled for another Grupe field goal to make it 14-6.

In the final minutes of the half, Jacksonville converted a fake punt with punter Logan Cooke completing a 13-yard pass to Tim Jones on fourth-and-2, setting up Brandon McManus’ 43-yard field goal for a 17-6 halftime lead.

INJURIES

Jaguars: Safety Andre Cisco received attention on the field late in the third quarter but was able to walk off on his own.

Saints: Carr appeared to finish the game in pain, but it was not immediately clear what was ailing him. … Alontae Taylor left the game briefly in the first quarter with an apparent cut on his nose and returned for the next series.

UP NEXT

The Jaguars travel to Pittsburgh on Oct. 29.

The Saints visit Indianapolis on Oct. 29.

​ Orange County Register 

Beckman boys water polo solves late surprise by Portola in Pacific Coast League thriller

• October 20, 2023

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IRVINE — Dane Warren of Beckman shouted the surprising goalie switch to his fellow defenders as the Portola offense emerged from its timeout in the closing seconds of regulation Thursday.

Trailing by one goal with 12 seconds left, reigning Orange County boys water polo coach of the year Kate Avery of Portola moved highly-scoring Ryder Tonkovich to goalie and then sent him across mid-pool to lead the Bulldogs’ 7-on-6 attack permitted the last few years under new rules.

“Smart idea,” Beckman coach Tijmen Egtberts said.

The Patriots’ defense was pretty clever, too.

Beckman sent two defenders at Tonkovich as the ball quickly rotated back to the point, forcing the junior to pass the ball to his left. Zander Huynh anticipated the pass and grabbed the steal to seal the Patriots’ 12-11 victory at Portola High.

“We had a defense prepared for a man-down like that,” Egtberts said, “so we knew what to do, and we ran it perfectly. … Just high-IQ defense.”

Beckman capped its regular season in the Pacific Coast League with a 7-0 record and secured the No. 1 seed for the league tournament next week.

Portola, the defending Pacific Coast champion, fell to 6-1 in league and will be the No. 2 seed.

The CIF-SS Division 2 contenders exchanged friendly “See you next week” remarks during the postgame handshake.

“Same time next week, I think we’ll go head to head for the league title at Woodbridge,” Avery said. “Beckman is a good team. They’ve got solid players. They’ve got great energy.”

Portola, the runner-up last season in Division 3, also displayed those qualities as it chased Beckman in the fourth period.

The Bulldogs trimmed a three-goal to one and a pair of two-goal deficits to a single goal. But Beckman senior Bradley Eisman scored the eventual game-winning goal by netting a perimeter shot with 2:58 left for a 12-10 lead.

Eisman, who started the season on the junior varsity, scored both of his goals in the fourth from about 6 meters as he capitalized on Portola’s dropping defense.

Tonkovich answered with his seventh goal on a power-play chance with 2:11 remaining but Beckman’s defense held from there.

“The last three defensive possessions we had in this game was the best defense we’ve played all year,” Egtberts said. “If we do that, we win.”

Goalie Vi Leus made six of his seven blocks in the second half for Beckman.

AJ Sexton paced the Patriots’ offense with four goals while Eisman and Warren added two apiece.

Portola goalie Asher Wettstein dueled with Leus by making six saves.

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​ Orange County Register 

ALCS: Abreu, Alvarez, Altuve help Astros even series with Game 4 rout of Rangers

• October 20, 2023

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas — José Abreu hit a three-run homer right after Yordan Alvarez’s tiebreaking sacrifice fly, and the Houston Astros pulled even in the American League Championship Series with a 10-3 victory over the Texas Rangers in Game 4 on Thursday night.

Houston, which led 3-0 only four batters into the game, responded immediately after Texas got even on Corey Seager’s opposite-field homer in the third inning.

Adolis García also homered for the wild-card Rangers, who have dropped two games in a row at home after starting this postseason with seven consecutive wins – six on the road – that included sweeps of the AL’s two winningest teams, Baltimore and Tampa Bay.

Game 5 is Friday afternoon at Globe Life Field, where the Astros are 8-1 this season. This ALCS, in which the home team hasn’t led yet, then switches back to Houston for Game 6 on Sunday night.

Jose Altuve had three hits and scored three times in his 100th career playoff game. Alvarez drove in three runs, giving him 13 RBIs already this postseason, and Chas McCormick added a two-run homer.

Dane Dunning, who entered in relief in the first inning, had an 0-and-2 count against No. 9 batter Martin Maldonado to open the fourth with the score tied before walking him and then Altuve.

Mauricio Dubón followed with his second soft single of the game before Alex Bregman struck out with the bases loaded. Rookie lefty Cody Bradford then came in to face Alvarez, whose 401-foot sacrifce fly to the warning track in center field came on the ninth pitch. Abreu then hit his fourth homer this postseason to make it 7-3.

Ryne Stanek got the victory while throwing only one pitch, inducing Mitch Garver’s inning-ending double-play grounder in the third.

The Astros have outscored Texas 74-32 in winning their last seven games at Globe Life. That includes their 8-5 win in Game 3 of the first postseason series between the instate AL West rivals.

Altuve opened the game with a double and Dubón, after three hits in Game 3, followed with a bloop single off Andrew Heaney. Bregman drove both home with a triple into the right-center gap, and the Rangers already had Dunning up in the bullpen before Alvarez singled to make it 3-0.

Seager became the first shortstop to homer in both the NLCS and ALCS with his 401-foot solo drive to left-center with one out in the third. Astros starter José Urquidy then gave up back-to-back singles before Stanek took over.

The Rangers were down 7-3, but they had two on with no outs in the fifth when a finger of Marcus Semien’s batting glove was the difference between a lineout and a crucial double play. The Rangers baserunner was sliding back to the bag at first base after Abreu snagged Corey Seager’s 108.6 mph liner, lunging to tag Semien just as his hand reached the bag, and first base umpire Jordan Baker signaled safe.

The Astros challenged, and the video review showed Abreu’s glove grazing one of the fingers on the batting glove in Semien’s back pocket as the finger popped into the air from the rear pocket. Texas had only two more baserunners after that play.

BIG PRODUCTION

Alvarez and Abreu are the first teammates in postseason history with at least four homers and 10 RBIs in a team’s first eight playoff games.

SEAGER DINGERS

Seager was with the Dodgers when they played 16 neutral-site playoff games at Globe Life Field while winning the World Series title in 2020. Seager was MVP in both the NLCS and World Series. He hit five homers in that seven-game NLCS, two in the World Series and has two here this postseason. He also went deep in their Game 3 AL Division Series clincher at home over Baltimore.

UP NEXT

Game 5 will be a rematch of the trade-deadline acquisitions who started the series opener. Rangers left-hander Jordan Montgomery threw 6⅓ innings in Game 1 as Texas won 2-0. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who allowed both runs over six innings, will make his 21st career postseason start for the Astros. They got him back from the Mets after he made only 16 starts in New York this year after going there in free agency.

FOR STARTERS

It was the first time in Heaney’s 156 career starts (154 regular season and two postseason) that he didn’t make it out of the first inning. The left-hander was done after a two-out walk. He allowed five of the seven batters he faced to reach base. … Urquidy, who allowed three runs on five hits in 2⅓ innings, entered the game 5-0 with a 2.82 ERA in seven career starts against the Rangers.

OPEN ROOF

A game was played at Globe Life Field with the roof open for the first time in nearly five months. It was 78 degrees under clear skies when the game began. Texas was 7-4 during the regular season with the roof open, the last game being May 21. The roof was open for 13 of the 16 neutral-site postseason games in 2020, including three of the six World Series games.

​ Orange County Register 

Brea woman arrested on suspicion of DUI after crashing into smoke shop

• October 20, 2023

A 56-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of a DUI after she drove through the entrance of a smoke shop in Brea, smashing into merchandise displays and leaving at least two people injured, police and a witness said.

Around 4:39 p.m., police responded to a report of a BMW sedan that slammed into Tobacco Buzz at 860 W. Imperial Highway.

Security footage shared by freelance videographer OnScene TV shows at least three people inside the store, including a customer who walked in seconds before the woman drove through the front entrance, with the car stopping well inside the shop.

In an interview with OnScene TV, store employee Ansh Seth said he was behind the register when he heard glass cracking and, at a moment’s notice, felt a pile of items fall on top of him.

“I didn’t realize I was hurt until the adrenal went down,” Seth said.

He said a friend of his, who was helping fix a light at the store entrance, received a leg injury and was hospitalized.

There was no word on whether the driver, a Brea resident, was injured.

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​ Orange County Register 

Leo Carlsson scores in impressive NHL debut, but Ducks lose to Stars

• October 20, 2023

ANAHEIM — The future might belong to any one of several promising prospects in this year’s NHL draft, but Thursday night’s match at Honda Center was Leo Carlsson’s alone as the Ducks center and this year’s No. 2 overall pick scored a goal in his NHL debut.

Despite the emotion surrounding Carlsson, the Ducks fell to the Dallas Stars, 3-2, at Honda Center, losing to a legitimate Western Conference contender that reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 and the conference finals last season.

Carlsson hit the ice to cheers from a home crowd eager for the start of a new era after five straight non-playoff seasons. He factored into the Ducks’ first goal by creating traffic at the net front and then received a standing ovation after he buried a pass off the rush from Troy Terry, who also scored the Ducks’ first goal. John Gibson made 21 saves.

Miro Heiskanen has been the engine for the Stars since his arrival in Dallas and he delivered a game-winning goal and two power-play assists Thursday. Joe Pavelski notched a goal and an assist and his linemate Roope Hintz also scored a goal. Jake Oettinger made 27 saves.

Carlsson’s goal came just 61 seconds into the third period, knotting the score at 2-all. Terry stripped Jamie Benn in the Ducks’ zone and carried the puck across three lines before slipping the puck across to Carlsson for a no-doubt, top-shelf wrist shot past an outstretched Oettinger.

With 9:33 to play, Carlsson nearly came up with his second equalizer of the night, but the 18-year-old Swede’s wrist shot was denied by Oettinger.

If that seemed anticlimactic, Heiskanen’s go-ahead goal elevated the word’s meaning to new heights as his attempted centering pass became an own-goal (credited to Heiskanen) off the stick of Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler.

While Thursday’s game might have helped close a bit of the gap between the first and second picks in this year’s draft – Chicago’s Connor Bedard’s scouting report has every superlative but “messianic” and he went first overall – it did little to close the gap between first and second periods that the Ducks often displayed last season under Coach Greg Cronin’s predecessor Dallas Eakins.

They out-shot Dallas 17-7 and headed into the first intermission with a 1-0 advantage. But they were shelled 12-1 in shots on goal in the second, leaving them trailing 2-1 through 40 minutes.

The Ducks’ top trio opened the scoring less than five minutes into the match when a Trevor Zegras one-timer from the blue line generated a rebound that popped directly to Terry for a putback goal, his first of the season. Had the rebound gone to the other side, it would likely have been Carlsson’s first goal. While he had to settle for a plus-one, rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov achieved a milestone with his first NHL assist.

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But the Stars tilted the ice, thanks in part to penalty trouble that the Ducks couldn’t abate. They took three penalties in the period, two of which led to goals while the third nullified a power play just 20 seconds into the opportunity.

First, it was Heiskanen, Pavelski and Hintz connecting a nearly 200-foot passing sequence that sent Hintz in on Gibson with a nitrogen boost to bury his first goal of the season midway through the frame. Then, it was Pavelski with a deft deflection of Heiskanen’s shot to give Dallas its first lead with less than two minutes to play in the second period.

Yet despite some old patterns returning, the Ducks played a sound third period, sending them into a weekend that will have them playing a back-to-back set.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Clippers rest stars, drop preseason finale to Nuggets

• October 20, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Apparently having seen enough from the starters in the Clippers’ first three preseason games, Coach Tyronn Lue gave his top three stars the night off Thursday.

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook sat on the sidelines while the second unit lost to the defending champion Denver Nuggets, 101-90, in a preseason finale at Crypto.com Arena.

George and Leonard played exclusively in the first half of the three previous preseason games, and George had a breakout game on Tuesday with 23 points.

“I’ve been very satisfied with them just understanding the process, understanding our mindset on both sides of the basketball and how we want to play,” Lue said of the regular starters. “And they’ve done a great job in camp so far.

“So, after tonight we still got five or six days to fine-tune what we want to be and who we want to be and we’re off to a good start with that so far. So, I like it.”

Lue instead used a lineup that featured Terance Mann, Robert Covington, Norman Powell, Bones Hyland and Ivica Zubac, the only regular starter in the group. If Lue wanted a test for those five, he got it.

Unlike Tuesday’s game, the Nuggets played their regular starters, and they didn’t take it easy on the Clippers, who had little luck in stopping two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon, who combined for 21 of the team’s first 24 points. Jokic just missed a triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists in 28 minutes, while Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 13 points apiece.

Hyland finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists to pace the Clippers, but he left the game in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle. Mann and Powell each had 10 points.

Hyland has been looking to show off his ball-handling skills but admitted that his scoring at times gets in the way. No one was complaining as he continually beat his man down the court or slid inside the paint for a basket.

“At the end of the day I am a point guard, but I feel like my point guard skills always get overlooked because of my scoring ability,” Hyland said. “I feel like it overshadows it, but I’m definitely a point guard. I feel like I’ve been showcasing that.”

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Lue said before the game, he wanted to see a continued defensive effort from the second unit and fewer turnovers. The Clippers turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 22 points, in Tuesday’s 116-113 preseason victory against Denver.

“Just continue to work on what we’ve been talking about – having a defensive mindset for 48 minutes. Our spacing on the floor offensively, making sure we’re not passing and standing. Make sure we’re cutting, understanding when we’re supposed to cut and sharing the basketball.”

Somewhere in the mix, though, is the starting power forward. Lue said that while he has made up his mind between Nicolas Batum, Mann and Covington, he wanted to wait until next week, before Wednesday’s season opener, to announce who has earned the job.

Each started a preseason game and Covington was tabbed for Thursday’s finale.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register