Breakers football looking good

August is around the corner, which means the high school football season can’t be far away.

And the Laguna Bach High football team is getting plenty of experience in summer passing league games and tournaments, which are continuing over the next several weeks.

“We’ve been going for about two weeks and everybody’s been playing pretty well,” Coach Jonathan Todd said. “We’re doing [passing tournaments] every Tuesday or Wednesday.”

The Breakers opened by making the semifinals of the JSerra tournament, beating JSerra and Santiago along the way. Then, the Breakers beat Irvine and University in a tournament July 8, before losing a tough decision to Santiago.

Laguna Beach had a tournament at Laguna Hills Tuesday, and continues with a four-way competition next Tuesday at Westminster. The Breakers then finish July 29 with their last one at defending CIF Southern Section East Valley Division champion St. Margaret’s.

Todd said incoming junior quarterback Austin Paxson has been playing well, as have returning receivers Chris Paul, who will be a junior, and sophomore-to-be Derek Reigel. Senior linemen Chris Hilleman and Ryan Raffo help anchor the team, while on defense safeties Alec Jaffe and Rouzebeh Kazemian (both seniors-to-be) have been standing out.

Paxson and Paul are the lone returning first-team All-Orange Coast League honorees for Laguna Beach, which went 5-7 last year, finished in second place in the Orange Coast League and fell in the first round of the CIF playoffs to former Pacific Coast League foe Corona del Mar, 41-0.

“It’s early, but they’re working hard,” Todd said.

The team will continue practicing through Aug. 14, take 10 days off then start up again Aug. 24. The Breakers’ first game is at home against CdM on Sept. 11.