Laguna

Laguna Beach’s football season came to an end on Friday night after the Breakers lost to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 44-28 in a Division 3 playoff opener. But if you saw the performances of three freshmen starters, you’d know how promising the future looks for Laguna Beach.

Luke Bogdan, 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, and Winston Darrow, 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, are 14 years old. Both start on the offensive line. Bogdan also played on the defensive line. Then there’s Charlie Christian, a running back and linebacker who is 15 and never wants to go down without a fight.

To have players so young holding their own on an offensive line in Division 3 was remarkable. Quarterback Jack Hurst was sacked once. Then there’s Christian, who caught five passes for 85 yards while also taking on Notre Dame’s huge offensive line on defense at his linebacker position.

When college recruiters see these freshmen on film and imagine how big and strong they might become in the coming years, they’ll be impressed.

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For its Southern Section Division 3 football playoff opener on Friday night against Laguna Beach, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame brought in a “ringer” assistant coach this week to get its running backs a little tougher.

Former UCLA coach DeShaun Foster dropped by to offer lessons, particularly to his sophomore stepson, Noel Washington.

“He helped a lot,” Washington said. “Having him here means a lot. He’s been making us practice a lot harder.”

And what was the impact? Washington had touchdown runs of 35, two and 32 yards to help Notre Dame (6-5) come away with a 44-28 victory and advance to a home game next week against Chino Hills. He finished with 83 yards in 11 carries.

Safety Tahj Skinner of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is happy after getting his sixth interception of the season.

(Craig Weston)

Junior quarterback Jack Hurst of Laguna Beach and West Virginia-bound senior quarterback Wyatt Brown of Notre Dame kept making plays all night. Hurst completed 32 of 51 passes for 417 yards and four touchdowns. Brown completed 16 of 31 passes for 232 yards and one touchdown. He ran for 61 yards and one touchdown.

The most important completion for Brown came with 7:38 left on third and 17 with Notre Dame clinging to a 34-28 lead. He found sophomore Emmanuel Pullins for a 19-yard completion. Then Pullins made a 31-yard catch. It set up a 21-yard field goal by Nico Marliani for a 37-28 lead with 2:22 left.

“Huge,” Notre Dame coach Evan Yabu said of the third-down reception.

“I just saw him one on one with no safety coverage,” Brown said.

Said Pullins: “I’m ready for those situations. Before the game, I promised myself to go for the ball.”

It became a wild game in the second half because Laguna Beach (9-2) refused to go down without a fight. After Andre Gamboa picked up a fumble on a high Laguna Beach snap to score a touchdown to start the third quarter, Notre Dame looked ready to pull away with a 28-14 lead.

Hurst responded with a four-yard touchdown pass to Grant Regal. Brown ran 10 yards for a touchdown and a 34-21 Notre Dame lead. Back came Hurst, who fired a 40-yard touchdown pass to Otis Boultinghouse.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Brown said. “They throw a punch, we throw a punch back.”

In defeat, Laguna Beach made clear it will be a team to reckon with next season. Two freshmen, lineman Luke Bogdan and running back Charlie Christian, kept making plays like they will be future stars. The receiving corp made up mostly of juniors kept making catches for Hurst, who finished the season with 45 touchdown passes. The Breakers were hurt by two fumbles and an interception.

“It was a fun game,” Washington said. “They are tough and play hard.”

A mistake by Brown late in the first half helped Laguna Beach get back into the game. Brown had a pass intercepted by Will Kimball with 1:01 left on a scramble with Notre Dame leading 21-7. Hurst drove the team down to score on a four-yard touchdown reception by Kimball with four seconds left to make it 21-14 at halftime.

Two touchdown runs by Washington and a 25-yard touchdown reception by Luc Weaver accounted for the Knights’ first-half scores.

Tahj Skinner of Notre Dame picked up his sixth interception of the season. Notre Dame lost its standout nose tackle, Chris Colon, for next week’s game after being ejected for two 15-yard personal foul penalties.

It’s a badge of honor to be called a surfer dude. There are plenty on the Laguna Beach High football team, led by their 6-foot-4 junior quarterback Jack Hurst.

Surfer dudes are fearless, agile and stay calm under pressure when there’s an approaching wave. They have good timing, great instincts and enjoy moments of serenity while gliding on a board waiting to test themselves against a wave.

Hurst has to avoid tacklers, so when a wave suddenly appears it’s good practice making quick decisions just like he does in football.

“I do surf a little bit. Don’t know about good. Being on the water is time to be calm for me,” he said.

Hurst has put together a breakthrough junior season after being a two-year understudy to Jackson Kollock, who is now at Minnesota. Hurst has passed for 2,560 yards and 41 touchdowns with four interceptions this season.

“I was sitting behind Jackson and waiting for my moment and my chance,” Hurst said. “We helped each other. It was great walking that journey with him.”

He’d get mop-up duty and learn from Kollock. Both have strong arms but Hurst is more of a drop-back passer.

“Jack’s improvement has been astounding,” coach John Shanahan said. “He turns 17 later this month. How quickly he processes coverages is great. He’s got lot of savvy in him.”

Laguna Beach is a true neighborhood team at 26 players strong, having gone 9-1. The Breakers have drawn Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in a Southern Section Division 3 playoff opener on Friday at Notre Dame.

Hurst is one of the first players to have joined Laguna Beach when it started a seventh-grade team trying to keep local players from leaving. There’s one middle school in the district. The same coaches and same players have followed Hurst through, so the camaraderie and chemistry is an important advantage for overcoming lack of depth.

“It’s been the same kids and same coaches since we were young,” Hurst said. “We’re all very close and play as a team.”

His top target, junior Brady Stringham, has caught 17 touchdown passes. “He’s in the right spot at the right time,” Hurst said.

Notre Dame coach Evan Yabu said of Hurst, “He’s accurate. He’s as sharp as a tack.”

There are few coaching staffs more impressive than the one put together by Shanahan. John Selbe (Cypress), Scott McKnight (JSerra), Mike Milner (El Toro, Fountain Valley) and Mark Flippin (El Toro) are former head coaches. Mike Walcott was defensive coordinator at JSerra. David Ricci coached at Tesoro and Capistrano Valley.

“Once you hear the resume, it’s wow,” Hurst said. “They know some football.”

It’s a reunion of sorts for Laguna Beach. Last season, the Breakers faced Notre Dame quarterback Wyatt Brown when he was playing for Santa Monica. Laguna Beach won 21-9. Brown has passed for 1,504 yards and 13 touchdowns and run for 912 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Laguna Beach and Hurst will need a collective effort on Friday night from his best football buddies.

“I really like that everyone is competing, whether in surfing or skateboading,” Hurst said.

If someone is using surfer lingo after the game — stoked! — you’ll know it was a good night for the Breakers.