High School Football Preview: Calvary Chapel vs. Laguna Beach

Calvary Chapel (3-6, 3-1) vs. Laguna Beach (5-4, 3-1)

Where/When: Friday, 7 p.m. at Laguna Beach High.

Key Eagles: Sr. QB/FS Sam Lak (56 of 127 passing for 709 yards, seven TDs and seven INTs; 22 tackles); Sr. OLB Bryce Debernarde (74 tackles, seven QB hurries, five tackles for a loss and one fumble recovery); Sr. RB/FS Anthony Mercado (60 carries for 333 yards and four TDs; 23 tackles, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one INT); Sr. WR/CB Payton Rogers (29 catches for 507 yards and seven TDs; 29 tackles).

Key Breakers: Jr. QB/CB Curtis Harrison (107 of 191 passing for 15 TDs and seven INTs; six rushing TDs; one fumble recovery and one INT); Sr. WR/OLB Ryan Blaser (35 catches for 533 yards and six TDs; one INT); Jr. WR/FS Adam Armstrong (17 catches for 325 yards and four TDs, 217 kickoff return yards; two INTs).

Breakdown: The pressure is on in the season finale. Calvary Chapel Coach Chris Cox said that his gut feeling is that only the winner of this game will make the playoffs, despite the loser finishing above .500 in league…As of the latest CIF-SS polls, neither Calvary Chapel (Division 12) or Laguna Beach (Division 13) was included as a bubble school for the rankings. A 4-1 league record should make a possible playoff berth more secure…Robbie Haw suffered a high ankle sprain in the third quarter of a loss to Godinez two weeks ago, forcing Calvary Chapel to change quarterbacks at this late stage. The good news for the Eagles is that Sam Lak has a hot hand. He threw for 303 yards and five touchdowns last week against Saddleback…If it gets the chance, Laguna Beach’s secondary is an opportunistic bunch that looks to score off the turnovers they create.

— Andrew Turner