Ramirez steps up for Eagles in quarterfinals

Costa Mesa Pop Warner

Junior Pee Wee Division

Eagles Black 21, Lakewood Red 12

Gasper Ramirez scored two touchdowns to help lead the Eagles to the win over the previously unbeaten Lancers, who were coming off a 24-0 win. David Atencio scored the Eagles’ final touchdown to secure the win, as Costa Mesa led, 14-12 after three quarters. Ramirez also connected on a 30-yard pass to tight end Elijah Chavis that helped set up Atencio’s touchdown. Deshandre Kerkhoff, Ryan Sekas, Cody Merrifield, and Hunter Mensinger played strong on defense. Jacob Marines had a 40-yard run. Mensinger, Carson Letterman, Christian Baskharoon, Spencer Morrison, Spencer Amorde and Joseph Beckworth also contributed on offense. The Eagles will face Pasadena Sunday at 1 p.m. in Anaheim Hills in the third round of the playoffs. The winner will advance to the Orange Empire Conference title game as part of the Orange Bowl, Nov. 1 at Estancia High’s Jim Scott Stadium.

Lakewood White 6, Eagles Silver 0

Lakewood scored early in the first quarter, but the rest of the game featured a fierce defensive battle. Turnovers played a key role in the outcome of this game, as well as penalties. Cole Kinder had two touchdowns called back on penalties for the Eagles. Andrew Laidlaw, Anthony DeLaTorre, and Gage Robertson each had several nice runs. Jonathan Muise, Christian Veit, Steven Muise, Christian Ferrara and Laidlaw led the Eagles’ defense.

Midget Division

Eagles 32, South Coast 8

Chris Blasing ran for three touchdowns and threw a TD pass for the Eagles. Ryan Schroth caught the touchdown pass. Nick Sargeant filled in for kicker Peter Kim, who suffered a knee injury. Sargeant made both of his PAT kicks in the second half. Costa Mesa will face North Long Beach in Canyon Hills Sunday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals of the Orange Empire Conference playoffs.

AYSO Region 97

Girls Under 12

Green Hornets 3, Purple Elephants 1: The Green Hornets had an amazing first half. Amanda Cox scored a goal. Carly Van Oosterndorp, Ashley Obuljen, Mackenzie Mowery, Holly Halperin, Lani Kerrigan, Kylee Seeber and Olivia Blanda were aggressive on offense and helped the Hornets control the ball. Chloe Hyde, Lexie Van Oosterndorp and Jessalyn Andres kept the opponent from scoring with great defense. Brelynn Viloria, Haley Datt and Kailey Hambek had powerful kicks on the offense. During the second half, Blanda and Obuljen scored goals for the Hornets. The Purple Elephants had a goal recalled due to offside position. Lani Kerrigan played strong in the goal for the Green Hornets.

Boys Under 12

The Red Team 3, Red Raiders 2: The Red Team won their fifth game in a row and grabbed a share of first place Saturday. Cooper Peters provided an assist to Griffin Burke who was able to go around his defender to put The Red Team in front with a brilliant shot to the corner of the goal. The Red Team continued the pressure. Once again they were led by Liam Tough, Sean Spencer and Spencer Swanson in the back. Their steady play has set the tone for the team this season. Corbin Joyce displayed his tough physical play and provided many scoring opportunities for himself and Alex Michaelson in the first half. The Red Raiders tied the game on a brilliant counter attack in the second half. That is when The Red Team’s midfield line stamped their dominance in the game. Sargis Srapyan slotted home the second goal of the game from the penalty spot. Sohrob Goodarzy provided the assist to the streaking Griffin Burke for the third goal. The Red Raiders got one goal back to make it an exciting finish. The hustling play of Brian Shaw, Michael Niteo and Maxwel Spruill kept the Red Raiders at bay.

Boys Under 10

Newport FC 2, Gladiators 2: Newport FC captains Justan Gizer and Lucas Mowery led the team. Jack Pitchess launched a long-range goal and Mowery perfectly converted a penalty kick. Julian Hernandez’s courageous play inspired his midfield teammates including Garrett Gendron, Hunter Bostwick and Thomas Vredenburgh. Bobby Schulze and Kyle Burger continue to prove their defensive value as did John Bush and Gizer splitting keeper and stopper assignments. This week’s Game Ball honors went to Hernandez.

Orange Crush 6, Ghostbusters 9: Ryan Pham and Scott Ryder had a shot on and scored goals in the first quarter, Scott’s on a corner kick. Quinn Richards challenged the goalie and scored a goal in the second quarter. Marcus Croxson and Connor Spence played a great offensive game in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Ryder scored three more goals, one on a corner kick. Garrett Gritzmacher had a shot on in the third. Griffin Brockhoff, Jonny Rimlinger and Jack White all worked hard to keep the Ghostbusters at bay.

Boys Under 8

GI Joes vs. Blue Hurricanes: The Joes faced a tough battle this week. Coaches Lexi McCardle and Devon Brannick rebounded from a rigorous morning taking exams and then leading the team. Tough offensive pressure was led by Jack Bibb and Jack Flores. Charlie Durham and Brett Johnson continued to handle the ball with finesse, dribbling around their opponents with ease. While scoreless until the fourth quarter, Blake Jackson put the Joes on the board with a grounder into the net. A gritty defensive performance was led by Dylan Miller and Will Schneider. Karim Kaylani and Michael Gallegos had great efforts on both sides of the ball, while Nick Sharamitaro held strong on defense.

Boys Under 5

Silver Bullets vs. Fire Ants: A great offensive game was played by the Silver Bullets. Brennan Seiber and Wyatt Wilson scored two goals each to lead the bullets offensively. The two first-quarter goals were set up by aggressive full-field dribble plays by Gabe Patrick and Mitchell Smith. The two second-half goals were set up by defensive attacks by Chile Wills and Wes Hanson. The defense was led by James Drayton, who held the goal firm for the Bullets.

Basketball

The Newport Lightning boys’ eighth-grade club basketball team finished in fourth in the Fall Classic Tournament Sunday. In Saturday’s pool play, the Lightning defeated Whittier Thunder, 48-12, and NJB Elite, 47-46, in a triple-overtime victory led by the strong play of point guard Charlie Coffman, guard Ryan Schroth and forwards Blake Flamson and Braden Brahs. The Lightning went on to defeat South Coast Waves, 60-38, in the Sunday morning pool-play game led by Jack Williamson’s club-record seven three-pointers, Alec Markling’s 11 points and Andrew Moore’s eight rebounds and five blocks. Newport’s run of victories came to an end in Sunday’s semifinal with a 54-49 loss to the Fullerton Mean Machine. The Lightning are coached by Mike Flamson and Mike Coffman.