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Beckman players prepare for a game earlier this season. (PHOTO: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Beckman High School’s football team has already clinched a share of the Lambda League title. It’s the second league title for the program and the first since 2011.
But the Patriots still believe they have some unfinished business. Beckman, coached by Marcello Giuliano, is out to win the outright title with a victory over Marina Friday in the league finale at Westminster.
Beckman is 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the league. Marina is 8-1 overall and 3-1 in league and with a win over Beckman would earn a share of the league title. Kennedy (6-3, 3-1) is also in the title race. The Fighting Irish meet Sunny Hills in the league finale.
“I’m really proud of this group of guys and they deserve all the credit and recognition that will come to them with this league championship,” Beckman Coach Marcello Giuliano said this week. “This group stuck together through some real lean years and they were committed to each other, the program and the vision that they wanted to leave a legacy and leave the program in a better place. They are an uncommon group of kids and we are incredibly proud of what they have accomplished. Being only the second group to claim a title is really special.
“Credit to the kids, though, they really aren’t satisfied. There’s a lot of goals we still want to accomplish, starting with this Friday’s game at Marina. We really want to finish this with a win against an excellent team. They have impact players in all phases of the game: their defense has been suffocating and the offense is really efficient and makes clutch plays. It’s clearly a huge test for us and we need to play our best game.”
Beckman wrapped up a share of the crown with a 48-27 victory over Valencia at Tustin.
The Patriots junior quarterback Noah Nam completed 9 of 10 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Makhi Czaykowski had four carries for 67 yards and one touchdown and one reception for 61 yards and a touchdown.
“We were really pleased that we played a clean first half last Friday,” Giuliano said. “Valencia has a good defense and we executed well against it. On offense they came out in a version of their offense they hadn’t showed yet and had a very good plan. I was happy with the defense’s ability to adjust on the fly. We knew we had an opportunity to earn a share of the title and we wanted to do that with a championship-type performance in terms of energy and execution.”
CIF playoff pairings will be announced Sunday morning.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
