Beckman senior running back Aidan Tran breaks away for a 19-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter to put the Patriots ahead of the Marina Vikings on Friday night. (PHOTOS: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).
In the final game of the regular season, Beckman’s football team took down Marina 21-14 Friday night at Tustin to clinch the outright title in the Lambda League.
Defense hallmarked the victory for Beckman.
The Patriots (7-3, 5-0) came up with two massive interceptions in their own territory by defensive back Xavier Musselman-Cano to swing momentum back in the Patriots way and stopping the offensive momentum built by Marina.
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“I mean, I saw the ball coming up and I see ball, I chase ball and I went up for it,” Musselman-Cano said postgame to OC Sports Zone. “I should have had three, but I’ll take two.”
However, no plays on the night were larger than the one made by defensive lineman Rian Silva, who sacked the Marina quarterback deep in Marina territory immediately after what could have been a game-losing lost fumble by the Patriots late in the fourth quarter.
That is, with the exception of the game-sealing interception made by defensive back Colin Singh, who picked off a deep Marina pass to officially seal the game and a Beckman Lambda league title after Fullerton won its week 10 game on Thursday.
“In the first half, the mentality [on defense] was ‘what are we doing out there?’ [Musselman-Cano] had a couple of picks that just kept the game close,” Beckman Coach Marcello Giuliano said when asked about his defense. “Whatever you think a game plan is, when you come into a big game like this, sometimes it gets thrown out the window and what it really is, is to go back to fundamentals, like lining upright and getting your eyes right.”
Beckman’s defense certainly had its eyes right in the second half on Friday, making clutch play after clutch play to seal the all-important victory.
Beckman was aided by quarterback Noah Nam, who came through when it mattered most, connecting with receiver Sawyer Nickelson on a 13-yard touchdown down the right sideline.
Nam completed 12 of 22 pass attempts on Friday, but had no turnovers and effectively managed the game for Beckman.
The senior occasionally missed open receivers, he still managed multiple chunk gains of 50, 23 and 15 to put Beckman in position deep in Marina territory. Notably, the 50-yard gain came with limited time on the clock when Beckman was trying to salt away the win after Marina scored a late touchdown to come within seven points.
The quarterback also added nine yards and a score on the ground with his legs.
“The offense, in some ways, didn’t play any better than the defense in the first half, and everyone knew it. As a coach, I literally went in and said, hey, guys, we played really bad in the first half, and the good news is, it’s 7-7, and we can go out and just play better football,” Giuliano said. “And I think [Nam] was nails in the third quarter … We fixed it at halftime. What’s great about this team is, it’s not like they get down on themselves.”
Leading the way for the skill players on offense for the Patriots was running back Aidan Tran and Nickelson. Nickelson, who caught the only touchdown in the air for Beckman on the night, recorded four catches for 40 yards and the score. Tran added four carries for 35 yards, including a 19-yard scamper in the third quarter to give Beckman a lead it would never relinquish.
Tran’s score notably came after a Tomo Bermejo blocked kick in Marina territory to set the Patriots up in plus field position.
Beckman wrapped up a regular season that will send the Patriots to the CIF playoffs as a league champion for the second straight year. This time it will be as a sole league champion.
On Marina’s side, it effectively became a tuneup game after the Vikings learned they would be heading to the CIF playoffs via a coin flip won over Kennedy on Friday for third place in the Lambda League.
Marina (6-4, 2-3) could receive a potentially favorable division placing come Sunday, given its record and league standing.
On Friday, the Vikings had a chance to win the third spot in the league outright with a victory, but fell just short after costly turnovers came back to haunt Marina.
Multiple mistakes, including what was ruled a muffed punt, cost the Vikings scores in what ended up being a one-score loss for the away team. Nonetheless, Coach Charlie Te Gantvoort offered praise for Beckman and his own squad after the defeat.
“[Beckman is] just tough, right? They’re tough, right? Obviously, we could have quit here. We couldn’t, there’s so many times that we could’ve quit,” Te Gantvoort said. “Sometimes I have to remind these guys like, hey, we beat some really, really good teams. Like, so either we’re really lucky or we’re pretty good too … We just got to keep working and keep getting better.”
The Vikings were led on offense by the team’s quarterback Francis Saporito who, despite the turnovers committed, had an impressive all-around game on offense. The senior put up strong numbers specifically on the ground, adding 85 yards and two scores on the ground to compliment his passing. The quarterback will look to lead Marina to success in November during the playoffs.
“[Fans are] going to see toughness, and they’re going to see a bunch of guys and coaches that love football playing together and for each other,” Te Gantvoort said when asked about what fans will see from his players during the playoffs.
CIF pairings will be announced on Sunday at 10 a.m.
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