Bolsa Grande Rallies to Defeat Laguna Beach

LAGUNA BEACH — After suffering through a winless season a year ago, Bolsa Grande made sure there would be no repeat by defeating Laguna Beach, 25-23, Friday.

Quarterback Doug Baughman’s 43-yard touchdown pass to Sam Baeder on fourth down with 4 minutes 37 seconds left enabled the Matadors to take the lead for good.

Laguna Beach began its final drive on its 22-yard line and marched to the Matador 18, but John Nguyen intercepted a Marc Ornelas pass in the end zone with 1:33 remaining to preserve the victory.

Bolsa Grande didn’t move the ball consistently, but hit on big plays to stay within striking distance. After the Artists’ Kyle Sanico scored on a four-yard run to put Laguna Beach up 13-0, the Matadors’ Ramon Nevarez returned the ensuing kickoff for a 93-yard touchdown, making the score 13-6 after one quarter.

Baughman and Baeder also hooked up for two touchdown passes of 23 and 28 yards.

Laguna Beach scored first on a 37-yard touchdown strike when quarterback Marc Ornelas found Miles Howe for a 7-0 lead. Ornelas completed 16 of 28 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

Bolsa Grande also took advantage of a fumbled punt when Baeder recovered on the Laguna Beach 37-yard line in the second quarter. On a fourth-down-and-10 play from the 28, Baughman floated a pass that Baeder snagged out of the air for the touchdown to pull within 13-12 at the half.