El Modena football scores late to beat Laguna Beach in Delta League

• October 9, 2026

ORANGE – It was a weird few days for the El Modena football team.

The Vanguards lost last week to Huntington Beach on a late Oilers touchdown that continues to be discussed and disputed. El Modena then had nothing close to a regular practice all week.

El Modena played flat for most of three quarters Thursday before a couple of late big plays got the Vanguards a 21-14 win over Laguna Beach in a Delta League game at El Modena High.

The Vanguards are 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the Delta League. Laguna Beach is 4-3 overall and 1-1 in league.

In last week’s 24-21 loss to Huntington Beach, a Huntington Beach touchdown pass in the end zone with 15 seconds left in the game might have bounced on the turf before the Oilers receiver caught the ball. In these social media days, video of the play is readily available and easy to evaluate.

“There’s been a little bit of an emotional hangover from last week,” said El Modena coach Matt Mitchell. “Monday was hot, so we were indoors Monday and didn’t practice normally. Tuesday we went on the grass in the dark behind the stadium, trying to use the stadium lights in the dark and yesterday (Wednesday) it was hot and we tried to practice though that.

“Luckily we got through it and got the ‘W’ tonight.”

El Modena quarterback Ethan Sorenson rushed for 101 yards on eight carries. Hayden Esperanza rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. El Modena’s Mason Romo had four sacks.

El Modena was outplayed by Laguna Beach in the first half and well into the third quarter.

Laguna Beach went into the game with many obstacles.

The Breakers were shorthanded. They suited up only 26 players, an usually small number for a team that is in the Orange County County Top 25. (Laguna Beach is No. 21 this week.) Among the Laguna Beach players unavailable because of injury was senior quarterback Jack Hurst, who suffered a dislocated kneecap last week.

Laguna Beach coach John Shanahan said Hurst, a Foxtrot League co-MVP last season, will be out at least another three weeks.

Freshman Braden Hansen was the Breakers starting quarterback Thursday.  started. Hansen completed 17 of 34 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns with one costly interception. Brady Stringham caught the two touchdown passes and kicked the two extra points.

Hansen threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Stringham in the first quarter that gave the Breakers a 7-0 lead.

El Modena, No. 18 in the county rankings, tied it late in the second quarter on Esperanza’s 25-yard touchdown run. It was 7-7 at halftime.

Laguna Beach took the second half-opening kickoff and drove 79 yards on 11 plays, a drive that consumed 4 minutes and 53 seconds and ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Stringham on fourth down. That put the Breakers up, 14-7.

The Breakers took that 14-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Sheehan flashed in front of the intended Laguna Beach receiver on the Laguna Beach sideline, intercepted the pass, twisted out of a couple of tackle attempts and returned the ball for a 28-yard touchdown that tied it, 14-14.

Romo’s third sack, at the Laguna Beach 6-yard line, forced a Breakers punt. A 38-yard pass from Sorenson to Noah Bates set up Esperanza’s 6-yard touchdown run that gave the Vanguards a 21-14 lead, their first lead of the game.

Sacks by Romo and Walker Duff thwarted the Breakers comeback efforts in the final minutes.

El Modena senior Jason Ramos took a tumble in the second quarter and was taken away by ambulance and an EMT crew. Mitchell said he understood that Ramos had a concussion, Ramos’ neck was tweaked on the play, and Ramos was able to move all of his extremities as Ramos was taken to the ambulance.

El Modena plays at home against Troy in a league game on Oct. 16. Troy was 1-0 in league going into this week.

Laguna Beach has a league home game against Dana Hills on Oct. 16. Dana Hills came into this week 6-0 overall and 1-0 in league.

​ Orange County Register 

Fullerton football holds off Canyon’s bid to win the game in final seconds

• October 9, 2026

FULLERTON — The Kappa League football showdown between Canyon and Fullerton on Thursday night came down to a 2-point conversion.

Canyon quarterback Kayden Phillips hit Noah McClary for a 23-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining in the game, leaving the Cobras trailing by a point.

The Cobras went for a 2-point conversion to win the game, but the attempt failed and the Red Hawks hung on for a 28-27 victory.

The Red Hawks (5-2, 2-0) scored on long drives, led by the hard-nosed running of Cyrus Aviles, with some spectacular catches by Isaac Garza mixed in.

Most of the scores for the Cobras (5-2, 1-1) came on big plays.

“We knew we wanted to make them (the Cobras) play a physical style of football because we knew they were fast, and we knew that we would have some trouble covering them,” Fullerton coach Nick Karavedas said. “We wanted to try to make them play our type of game.”

Fullerton’s running game was nearly unstoppable in the first half.

Logan Moore’s 2-yard touchdown run capped a 16-play, 94-yard drive that gave the Red Hawks a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

While Moore got the touchdown, running back Cyrus Aviles had 13 carries for 82 yards on the drive and finished with 144 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.

“Cyrus Aviles is what Fullerton football is all about,” Karavedas said.

Fullerton scored again on a 96-yard drive, with Aviles scoring on a 7-yard run to make the score 14-0.

The key play on that drive was a 34-yard pass from Sergio Andrade to Isaac Garza, who made an excellent catch falling backward with a defender in his face to put the Cobras at the Canyon 15.

A 14-point swing late in the first half got the Cobras back in the game when Kasin Leidholdt scooped up a Fullerton fumble at the Canyon 15 and returned it for an 85-yard touchdown to make the score 14-7 at the half.

The Red Hawks took a 21-7 lead on Logan Moore’s 3-yard touchdown run, but the Cobras came right back on a 73-yard touchdown pass from Phillips to Zack Lachman.

Canyon tied the score on Phillips’ 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

Then the Red Hawks put together another long scoring drive, this one for 80 yards.

In the middle of the drive, Fullerton faced a third-and-8 from the Canyon 47 when Andrade and Garza connected for 32 yards, with Garza having the presence of mind to keep his feet inbounds inches from the left sideline.

That play helped set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Andrade to Garza to give the Red Hawks a 28-21 lead with just under two minutes remaining.

Canyon took over and drove 75 yards for a touchdown. Canyon coach Vinnie Lopez opted to go for the victory with a 2-point conversion attempt.

“I think that is the right call,” Lopez said.

​ Orange County Register 

High school football: Scores from Thursday’s Week 7 games

• October 9, 2026

Scores from the high school football games Thursday, Oct. 8.

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

CIF-SS

Alpha League

Mission Viejo 27, Yorba Linda 26

Baseline League

Etiwanda 35, Damien 25

Rancho Cucamonga 21, Chino Hills 9

Delta League

El Modena 21, Laguna Beach 14

Desert Sky League

Victor Valley 41, Granite Hills 17

Golden League

Highland 37, Eastside 0

Hacienda League

Baldwin Park 34, Covina 0

Los Altos 56, South Hills 14

Iota League

Cypress 38, La Palma Kennedy 0

Kappa League

Fullerton 28, Anaheim Canyon 27

Lambda League

Fountain Valley 45, Woodbridge 21

Manzanita League

Silver Valley 42, Nuview Bridge 16

Mid-Cities League

Bellflower 47, California 10

Mojave River League

Apple Valley 21, Oak Hills 7

Hesperia 38, Ridgecrest Burroughs 19

Serrano 48, Sultana 12

River Valley League

Patriot 48, Miller 0

Skyline League

Arroyo Valley 30, Bloomington 8

Carter 40, Indian Springs 0

Fontana 45, San Gorgonio 21

Tango League

Bolsa Grande 37, Garden Grove Santiago 6

Santa Ana Valley 10, Westminster La Quinta 7

Nonleague

Eisenhower 29, Rim of the World 28

Jurupa Hills 60, Kaiser 40

Rialto 21, Grand Terrace 15

Summit 28, Colton 7

​ Orange County Register 

ALDS: Jose Ramirez, Guardians rock White Sox to force a Game 5

• October 9, 2026

By JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writer

CHICAGO — José Ramírez homered and drove in three runs, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-5, on Thursday night to send their American League Division Series to a winner-take-all Game 5.

Pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey also went deep as the Guardians won for the second consecutive day after beginning their postseason with two straight losses at home. Jo Adell hit a two-run single to cap a six-run sixth inning for the AL Central champions.

Cleveland is looking to become the first major league team to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five playoff series since the 2017 New York Yankees accomplished the feat against, well, Cleveland. Teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have gone on to win 83 of 93 times.

Game 5 is back in Cleveland on Saturday night.

Chicago’s bullpen – one of its biggest strengths in a surprising season – is suddenly looking very tired. Grant Taylor was hit hard after pitching 5-1/3 scoreless innings over the first two games of the series, allowing four runs and four hits without retiring any of the six batters he faced during Cleveland’s rally in the sixth.

Miguel Vargas homered late for the White Sox, who flopped in their second straight bid to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Sam Antonacci drove in two runs.

Game 2 starter Gavin Williams got the last three outs for Cleveland after Vargas began the ninth with his first postseason homer. It was the first career relief appearance for Williams, who could start Game 5 for the Guardians.

Cleveland trailed 2-0 before rallying in the fifth. Bailey led off with a pinch-hit homer, and Steven Kwan chased Erick Fedde with a one-out single.

Jordan Hicks came in and Ramírez drove a 99.9 mph fastball deep to right-center for just his second homer since Sept. 1, a span of 26 games. The seven-time All-Star had surgery after he broke a bone in his left hand on a swing June 13.

It was Ramírez’s first postseason homer since 2024 and No. 5 overall. He also starred in Game 3, finishing with two hits and two RBIs in Cleveland’s 9-3 victory.

Chicago responded with two runs in the bottom half, sending a charge through the crowd of 39,920. Antonacci was hit by a pitch from Tim Herrin with the bases loaded, and Brenton Doyle made it 4-3 with a sacrifice fly. The White Sox had the bases loaded with two down, but rookie Braden Montgomery struck out swinging against Erik Sabrowski.

Antonacci has been plunked 33 times this year, including a franchise-record 29 in the regular season. The rookie became the first player in postseason history to be hit by a pitch with the bases loaded multiple times in a career, after he was also plunked in the same situation in Game 3.

Anthony Kay started the sixth for Chicago, but the left-hander was replaced by Taylor after Travis Bazzana’s RBI double tied it at 4-4. Bailey greeted Taylor with a run-scoring single, and Cleveland started to pull away.

Walks by Brayan Rocchio and Kwan loaded the bases for Ramírez, who made it 6-4 with an infield single. Chase DeLauter added another run-scoring single before Adell capped the outburst with a liner to right that drove in Kwan and Ramírez.

Adell hit a three-run triple during Cleveland’s Game 3 victory. He has four hits, three walks and six RBIs in the series.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Endorsement: Eleni Kounalakis for state treasurer

• October 9, 2026

The California state treasurer serves as the state’s top asset manager, banker, and financier. It isn’t the most glamorous job, but it demands the most qualified candidate available.

In this race, that person is Eleni Kounalakis.

Eleni Kounalakis sees the office as a logical next step after two terms as lieutenant governor, through which she served on various state boards and so has a varied perspective on the needs of state government. She brings applicable political experience as a state elected official and former U.S. ambassador and two decades of private experience from her time working for AKT Development, which was founded by her real estate magnate father. She also holds a master’s in business administration from UC Berkeley, so she has solid conceptual foundations useful to someone overseeing the state treasurer’s office.

If elected, she should stand behind her vow to “use the office as a bully pulpit” to “speak out clearly and often for fiscal discipline and responsible budgeting. The specific indicators that I will monitor include the structural budget gap, debt-service-to-revenue ratio, reserve levels, revenue volatility, and credit rating outlooks. Together, these metrics provide a clear view of the state’s fiscal health and whether we are maintaining the confidence of investors and taxpayers.”

Given her development background, she could also be helpful in her capacity overseeing the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, which work to finance affordable housing developments. “I believe the [state treasurer’s office] can go one step further and partner directly with local governments to move projects from approval to construction faster — because nothing drives up the cost of housing construction more than red tape and time delays,” she told this newspaper.

To be sure, we have our disagreements with her. Serving on the University of California Board of Regents, she supported the well-intended but foolish decision to scrap consideration of SAT and ACT tests in admissions. On the other hand, as treasurer she’d be overseeing some financial aspects of education systems, not education policies, so it’s not directly relevant.

More pertinent to her position given that the treasurer serves on the state’s pension boards, this year, she supported Assembly Bill 1383, legislation that would’ve allowed cities to boost pensions for public safety employees. AB 1383 was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month. In her interview with our editorial board, though, she was reasonable, and emphasized that on the pension front she didn’t favor mandating what cities couldn’t afford.

We also considered her challenger, Republican Jennifer Hawks, who served the state well by preventing David Serpa from making it to the general election. To be sure Serpa, an admirer of Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, would’ve made this an even easier call to make, so credit to Hawks for giving reasonable Republicans an option to vote for.

Hawks, now retired, had an admirable career working for various businesses before spending the last 21 years of her working life at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, a private Bay Area Catholic school, where she worked as an executive assistant. Hawks conceded she needed to study up more on bonds, but emphasized her ability to work with people. She told us she would make a good team with Herb Morgan if he’s elected controller and would get to know everyone in the treasurer’s office.

That’s probably all true and we certainly align more on her conservative instincts. But Kounalakis is the best suited for the role. She has the mix of business, political and governance experience this role demands. Given her private sector background, she also has just enough grounding in the real world that not many statewide Democratic officials seem to have.

If one wishes to cast a protest vote against the Democrats, sure, vote for Hawks. If you want to vote for the person best qualified for the job, it’s Kounalakis.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Thursday, Oct. 8

• October 9, 2026

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Thursday, Oct. 8

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.

GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Tesoro 37, San Clemente 26

NONLEAGUE

Ontario Christian 26, Fairmont Prep 6

GIRLS GOLF

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Garden Grove 242, Ocean View 278

SUNSET LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 208, Edison 220

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Capistrano Valley 270, El Toro 279

TRINITY LEAGUE

Orange Lutheran 185, JSerra 217

BOYS WATER POLO

COAST LEAGUE

Western 16, Anaheim 5

Los Amigos 15, Savanna 2

GROVE LEAGUE

Santa Ana Valley 23, Loara 6

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

University 10, Northwood 9

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

San Juan Hills 13, Aliso Niguel 11

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Dana Hills 19, El Toro 4

Trabuco Hills 11, Mission Viejo 9

NONLEAGUE

Sonora 11, Ocean View 8

Buena 9, Mater Dei 8

West Covina 17, Segerstrom 6

Troy 16, Valencia 10

GIRLS TENNIS

CRESTVIEW LEAGUE

Foothill 10, Troy 8

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Garden Grove 13, Kennedy 5

FREEWAY LEAGUE

Sunny Hills 12, Cypress 6

Pacifica/GG 10, Esperanza 8

ORANGE LEAGUE

Anaheim 16, Loara 2

Orange 11, Santa Ana Valley 7

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE

Calvary Chapel/SA 18, Ocean View 0

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Pacifica Christian/OC 11, St. Margaret’s 7

SAN JOAQUIN LEAGUE

Fairmont Prep 15, Capistrano Valley Christian 3

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Capistrano Valley 10, Dana Hills 8

SUNSET LEAGUE

Huntington Beach 14, Fountain Valley 4

TRINITY LEAGUE

JSerra 16, Mater Dei 2

NONLEAGUE

Oxford Academy 11, Whitney 7

​ Orange County Register 

UCLA: Nearly 15,000 deported from Southern California in Trump immmigration sweep

• October 9, 2026

Nearly 15,000 people arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Southern California in 2025 and 2026 were eventually deported, according to a study published Thursday, Oct. 8 by UCLA and the UC Berkeley School of Law.

At the height of the agency’s surge in June and July 2025, 75% of those arrested were deported, researchers said.

The study looked at arrests, detentions and deportations of non-citizens within the Los Angeles ICE field office’s area of responsibility, which covers the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

The findings also show that the city of Los Angeles had by far the most apprehensions, with 33% of all “at-large” arrests in the region occurring there.

“The extraordinary impact of the surge is now clear,” Graeme Blair, co-director of the project and a political science professor at UCLA, said in a statement. “Nearly 15,000 people have been deported from the region. Now, we can also quantify what immigrant communities here have felt since the surge began in the summer of 2025: that enforcement never stopped. Over 1,000 non-citizens were arrested just in July 2026.

“Increasingly, non-citizens across the country who had no reason to expect they could be deported have been targeted, and it was folks in the Los Angeles region who bore the brunt of these new enforcement priorities first,” Blair said. “These are people immigration judges have not ordered removed, many with legitimate grounds to challenge their removals.”

While ICE, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, had previously relied heavily on taking custody of people already held in jails and prisons, a defining feature of immigration enforcement since 2025 has been a sharp increase in at-large arrests — those carried out in neighborhoods and communities and at ICE check-ins rather than custodial settings.

“DHS leaders made Los Angeles a testing ground in June 2025 for the new at-large arrest strategy, sending immigration agents out into communities, Home Depot parking lots and immigration courthouses, and to make arrests at regular ICE check-ins,” Blair said. “Those patterns continued throughout fall 2025. Again, this summer, we saw that the numbers increased as ICE continues to try to hit daily arrest targets.”

Key takeaways from the study by the UCLA-based Deportation Data Project and UC Berkeley:

— 15,000 deported. ICE arrests across a seven-county region in 2025 and 2026 have led to nearly 15,000 deportations;

— Arrests move into communities. At-large arrests surged, increasingly targeting people without criminal convictions or final deportation orders; and

— Swift deportations, few releases. Of those arrested from January 2025 through May 2026, 62% were deported within 60 days, while just 7% were released from detention within 60 days.

The status of people arrested during the surge changed as well. At the surge’s peak, in June 2025, arrests of people who had no final order of removal from an immigration court were nearly 1,400% higher than 2024 levels, while arrests of non-citizens with no criminal conviction increased by more than 3,400%. Neither group had been targeted by previous administrations, the study determined.

Suicidal ICE detainees are routinely put in solitary confinement. Experts say that’s inhumane

Adelanto ICE medical staff repeatedly failed detainee who died, internal report says

‘A culture of fear:’ The lingering trauma after ICE detains a loved one

​ Orange County Register 

Bucky Irving, Jalon Daniels lead Bucs past sloppy Cowboys for 1st win

• October 9, 2026

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas — Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 165 yards, including a 72-yard run to set up the touchdown that put his team ahead for good while scoring twice himself, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 24-16, on Thursday night for their first win of the season.

Jalon Daniels threw a touchdown pass to Irving in the first half while directing a turnover-free offense amid several Dallas miscues in the just the second start for the undrafted rookie.

Daniels, who was 19 of 25 for 189 yards, is filling in for Baker Mayfield, who is expected to be sidelined for at least one more game with a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand.

Irving had 21 carries and a 7.9-yard average while scoring on a 5-yard pass and a 1-yard plunge as the Bucs (1-4) finally found some footing in a season that started with expectations of winning the NFC South.

Dak Prescott led a 99-yard drive and threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens in the fourth quarter before his second interception off a tipped pass helped Tampa Bay clinch the win in the final two minutes.

The Cowboys (2-3) continued an up-and-down start to the season, this time with an offense that was at times as sloppy as the defense has been in both seasons under Coach Brian Schottenheimer.

After Irving’s long run on the first play of the second half was followed by receiver Emeka Egbuka’s 14-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep, Prescott threw his first interception and the Dallas defense left Tez Johnson wide open on a 64-yard grab that led to Irving’s 1-yard plunge for a 21-10 lead.

KaVontae Turpin’s fumble on the subsequent kickoff led to a Tampa Bay field goal, but only after the Bucs converted a third-and-21 from the Dallas 48-yard line with Daniels’ 21-yard pass to Egbuka.

The Cowboys were missing one of the pieces they recently added to try to fix a porous defense. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was a late scratch in what was supposed to be his second appearance since arriving in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

Prescott was 24 of 42 for 316 yards in his first two-interception game of the season – his first picks since the opener.

BUCS HAVE LONG AND QUICK TD DRIVES

Irving’s 5-yard touchdown catch capped a 15-play, 73-yard drive that ran the final 10:44 off the clock in the first quarter and had a final count of 10:58. Then his 72-yard run was the first of two plays on an 86-yard drive that took exactly 1 minute.

INJURIES

Cowboys defensive back Alijah Clark exited with a hamstring injury in the first half and didn’t return.

More to come on this story.

UP NEXT

The Buccaneers are at home against Pittsburgh on Oct. 18.

The Cowboys play at Green Bay on Oct. 18.

​ Orange County Register