Pacifica was led by (from left) Gabe Frias, Michael McGuigan, Zack Dickison, Max Salas and Joseph Pham-Ngoy in the win Thursday. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
After seeing his team reach the semifinal round of the CIF playoffs in the previous two seasons and falling short, Pacifica Coach Kyle Murphy has set his sights on the next level for this season.
The Mariners got off on the right foot Thursday night defeating Beckman, the reigning CIF Division 8 champions 27-7 in a non-league game at Tustin.
After a scoreless first quarter that was filled with opening game jitters and turnovers, the Mariners broke on top 7-0 on the first play of the second quarter.
Pacifica’s scoring march was set up by a 30-yard punt return by Jackson Delight to the Patriots 26-yard line. Five plays later, quarterback Joseph Pham-Ngoy scored on a perfectly executed fake handoff into the line. Pham-Ngoy kept the ball and raced around the left end into the end zone from 13 yards for the touchdown.
“The O-Line started it all; they got us rolling, and our defense was outstanding,” said Pham-Ngoy, who rushed for 44 yards and scored two touchdowns and completed eight passes.
Later in the quarter, Pham-Ngoy guided the Mariners on a 9-play, 61 yard scoring drive that was capped off by Zack Dickison 5-yard touchdown run, giving Pacifica a 14-0 lead at the half.
“This was out first opening game win in four years and for us to do it against a CIF champion is extra special,” Dickison said.
The Mariners defense, led by linebackers Noah Palmieri and Landon Manley, limited the Patriots to 31 yards of offense in the opening half and forced two turnovers. Palmieri and Michael McGuigan each had interceptions in the game for the Mariners.
Pacifica opened the second half with a 12-play scoring drive that ended with a 26-yard field goal by Beckett Bernhard. Later in the quarter, following an interception by McGuigan, Bernhard added a 33-yard field goal that gave the Mariners a 20-0 lead.
Pham-Ngoy added an 18-yard TD run on a fourth-down play midway through the fourth quarter to up Pacifica’s lead to 27-0.
Beckman got on the board with just over two minutes left in the game when quarterback Zavier Musselman tossed a 15-yard TD pass to Bronden Brumley.
“They’re a really good team,” said Patriots Coach Marcello Giuliano, the Orange County 2025 Coach of the Year. “We couldn’t throw the ball and their offensive and defensive lines played a really good game. They are a physical team.”
“Our offensive line played really well, especially the three new starters, RJ Massie-Reynolds, Patrick Ohi and Greyson Kokot,” added Murphy, the Pacifica coach. “And today was Joseph’s (Pham-Ngoy) first varsity start at quarterback and he played really well and that kid wants to win so bad. I also thought our defense played physical.”
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