Trabuco Hills Runs Around Laguna Beach

LAGUNA BEACH —  Running back Jeff Clayton’s 162 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries led Trabuco Hills to a 34-13 victory over Laguna Beach Friday night in the Pacific Coast League opener for both teams at Guyer Field.

Clayton, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound senior, pounded out 91 of his yards and both of his touchdowns in the second half as the Mustang running game wore down the Artists.

The rest of the damage for Trabuco Hills (1-0, 2-3-1) was done by senior fullback Tim Blek, who had only three short carries but all for touchdowns.

Laguna Beach (0-1, 2-4) kept it close early behind the passing combination of junior quarterback Trigg Garner and senior wide receiver Eric Fegraus, who had six catches for 104 yards.

The Artists’ first score came early in the second quarter after linebacker Dante Steel recovered a fumble by Mustang tight end Gibson Gomez at the Artist 49. Three plays later, Garner and Fegraus hooked up on a 40-yard touchdown pass to close Laguna Beach to within 7-6 early in the second quarter.

But the Mustang defense, behind defensive tackle Kreg Koford and cornerback Dave Corrao, did not allow Laguna Beach to score again until the closing seconds.

Trabuco Hills’ Pat Barnes completed 10 of 15 passes for 136 yards, with one interception.