ORANGE — The Orange football team was exceptional on both sides of the ball and got clutch performances from several individual players in its biggest game of the season Friday.
Orange defeated previously undefeated Laguna Beach, 24-9, in the Foxtrot League finale at El Modena High School.
Laguna Beach entered the game as one of three undefeated teams in Orange County.
The Panthers (6-4, 3-2) finish in a tie for third with Aliso Niguel (7-3, 3-2). The Breakers (9-1, 4-1) finish in a tie for first with Dana Hills (4-1).
Since Aliso Niguel defeated the Panthers in their head-to-head matchup in Week 9, the Wolverines will go into the playoffs as the third-place team when the playoff pairings are announced Sunday.
Panthers coach Robert Pedroza likes his team’s chances for an at-large berth, especially after their victory over the Breakers.
“I think we’re still in a pretty good position for an at-large,” Pedroza said, “I would say, with our record and our strength of schedule and our ranking.”
Panthers sophomore quarterback Star Thomas completed 29 of 43 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns.
For the season, Thomas has thrown for 2,933 yards and 24 touchdowns.
“We knew it was going to be a tough team ahead,” Thomas said. “We just had to prepare mentally and physically. We got in the film room and studied really hard. We didn’t care about their record at all. We just cared about us as a family, and we came out here and dominated.”
The Panthers defense held the Breakers, who averaged 44 points per game coming in, to their lowest point total of the season.
Orange recorded five sacks including three from defensive end Anthony Randle and got an interception from Tyler Padovano late in the first half when the Breakers were driving.
A 27-yard field goal from Christopher Cervantes gave the Panthers a 17-9 lead with nearly 10 minutes remaining in the game, more than enough time for the Breakers to tie the score with a touchdown and two-point conversion.
But the Panthers stopped the Breakers on fourth down on their final two drives.
On the first drive, Nathan Marquez made a great play on fourth down to break up a pass in the end zone.
Orange then took over and essentially put the game away when Thomas connected with Kingston Hunter for a 65-yard touchdown with just over four minutes remaining.
On the Breakers next possession, the Panthers forced incompletions on third and fourth down and took over on offense with three minutes remaining.
“They want to come play football,” Pedroza said. “And that’s the best part about practice all week is they have no problem practicing because they love competing. And tonight was just a total team effort. Credit to my coaching staff. They do an amazing job and work countless hours and the kids made the plan happen tonight. You don’t win without great players and that’s what we have here.”
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