JSerra football suffers first loss of season
COSTA MESA – After the first seven plays of the game, Orange Lutheran didn't look like Orange Lutheran.
On the way to its first two touchdowns, the predominantly ground-oriented Lancers had passing plays of 50 and 76 yards.
JSerra quarterback Nick Robinson is sacked by an Orange Lutheran defender during the first half Friday night.
ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In the second half the Lancers (6-0, 1-0) returned to their ground-and-pound offense to grind out a 29-13 home victory over fifth-ranked JSerra Friday night at Orange Coast College.
The Lancers had lost the previous two meetings to the Lions (5-1, 0-1).
“We worked hard the last two weeks,” Orange Lutheran quarterback Luke Langdon said. “I was impressed, but we expect the best out of our team.”
Langdon's first pass of the game went for 50 yards to Mathew Hannon. His second again went to Hannon, this time for 76 yards and a touchdown. The Lancers scored on their first three possessions and had a safety for a 22-0 lead at halftime.
Hannon finished with five receptions for 163 yards.
“We felt like we could do some things in the throwing game off of our play-action,” Orange Lutheran coach Chuck Petersen said. “We had not shown either one of those plays the whole year. We felt really good about what happened and it was a neat thing to see our kids execute it.”
While the Lancers were able to get things moving offensively, their defense did the rest.
JSerra running back Casey Eugenio was held to six yards. The Lions played the second half without wide receiver Dante Pettis, who left late in the second quarter with a leg injury.
“Our team speed and our passion to get to the football,” Petersen pointed to as the keys. “Our kids take great pride in playing hard and getting to the ball.”
JSerra scored late in the third quarter on a 47-yard screen pass from Nick Robinson to Eugenio.
The Lancers responded with one of their customary time-consuming drives, going 61 yards in 10 plays, ending with Patrick Reardon's 3-yard touchdown.
In the fourth, the Lancers ate up seven minutes thanks to a 16-play drive that stalled at the 24, but left less than 5 minutes on the clock.
The Lancers won just one league game in each of the previous two years. Petersen knows that there is still work to be done to top that total this season.
“We kind of look as ourselves as the little engine that could,” he said. “We're just chugging up that hill, going I think I can, I think I can …every week will be a challenge and fortunately for us we got over one hurdle.”
COSTA MESA – After the first seven plays of the game, Orange Lutheran didn't look like Orange Lutheran.
On the way to its first two touchdowns, the predominantly ground-oriented Lancers had passing plays of 50 and 76 yards.
JSerra quarterback Nick Robinson is sacked by an Orange Lutheran defender during the first half Friday night.
ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In the second half the Lancers (6-0, 1-0) returned to their ground-and-pound offense to grind out a 29-13 home victory over fifth-ranked JSerra Friday night at Orange Coast College.
The Lancers had lost the previous two meetings to the Lions (5-1, 0-1).
“We worked hard the last two weeks,” Orange Lutheran quarterback Luke Langdon said. “I was impressed, but we expect the best out of our team.”
Langdon's first pass of the game went for 50 yards to Mathew Hannon. His second again went to Hannon, this time for 76 yards and a touchdown. The Lancers scored on their first three possessions and had a safety for a 22-0 lead at halftime.
Hannon finished with five receptions for 163 yards.
“We felt like we could do some things in the throwing game off of our play-action,” Orange Lutheran coach Chuck Petersen said. “We had not shown either one of those plays the whole year. We felt really good about what happened and it was a neat thing to see our kids execute it.”
While the Lancers were able to get things moving offensively, their defense did the rest.
JSerra running back Casey Eugenio was held to six yards. The Lions played the second half without wide receiver Dante Pettis, who left late in the second quarter with a leg injury.
“Our team speed and our passion to get to the football,” Petersen pointed to as the keys. “Our kids take great pride in playing hard and getting to the ball.”
JSerra scored late in the third quarter on a 47-yard screen pass from Nick Robinson to Eugenio.
The Lancers responded with one of their customary time-consuming drives, going 61 yards in 10 plays, ending with Patrick Reardon's 3-yard touchdown.
In the fourth, the Lancers ate up seven minutes thanks to a 16-play drive that stalled at the 24, but left less than 5 minutes on the clock.
The Lancers won just one league game in each of the previous two years. Petersen knows that there is still work to be done to top that total this season.
“We kind of look as ourselves as the little engine that could,” he said. “We're just chugging up that hill, going I think I can, I think I can …every week will be a challenge and fortunately for us we got over one hurdle.”
