El Dorado football knocks off Laguna Beach with lift from Nate Bento, tough defense
QB Nate Bento completes all 10 of his passes and the defense stifles Laguna Beach’s offense
Laguna Beach’s Wyatt Bogdan makes the El Dorado defense struggle to bring him down in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
LAGUNA BEACH – El Dorado’s Nate Bento is a good quarterback, too.
Laguna Beach quarterback Jackson Kollock was Orange County’s regular-season passing champion with his county-leading 2,954 yards and 41 touchdown passes. He recently committed to Washington.
Bento had the better game Friday, though, completing all 10 of his passes, including two touchdowns, and the Golden Hawks defense made things difficult for Kollock as El Dorado defeated Laguna Beach 21-7 in a CIF Southern Section Division 7 first-round playoff game at Laguna Beach High.
Laguna Beach’s Ryner Swanson fails to haul in a pass late in the game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
El Dorado’s J.P. Murray scores in a long completion in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
El Dorado’s Evan Campuzano, right, celebrates a touchdown in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
Laguna Beach’s Nick Rogers is tackled in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
El Dorado’s Grant Thomas is brought down by the Laguna Beach defense in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
El Dorado’s Grant Thomas, right, is brought down by Laguna Beach’s Nico Vidaurri Tucker, left, in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
El Dorado’s Isaiah Quintero rushes during the first quarter in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
El Dorado’s Isaiah Quintero hits a hole to gain more yards in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
Laguna Beach’s Wyatt Bogdan makes the El Dorado defense struggle to bring him down in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
The El Dorado team takes the field in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
Laguna Beach’s Jackson Kollock attempts a pass in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
El Dorado’s Evan Campuzano, left, celebrates a touchdown in a game between El Dorado vs. Laguna Beach in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 playoffs at Laguna Beach on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Photo by Michael Kitada, Contributing Photographer)
El Dorado (6-5) will play at Redondo (7-4) in the quarterfinals.
Laguna Beach finished at 9-2. The Breakers had won nine in a row since a one-point loss to Chino in their season opener.
Bento threw both touchdown passes to senior receiver Evan Campuzano. Bento (6-3, 190) finished with 130 yards passing and rushed for 28 yards on 11 carries.
El Dorado senior running back Isaiah Quintero, in his second game back after recovering from a surgically-repaired broken fibula, rushed for 93 yards on 17 carries. Junior running back J.P. Murray scored on a 24-yard run.
Laguna Beach, the CIF-SS Division 9 champion last season, averaged 44 points a game during the regular season. The Breakers’ lowest points total before Friday was 18 in a nonleague win over Charter Oak.
“Our defense played unbelievable,” Bento said. “Everyone was talking about (the Breakers’) high-powered offense. And (we) came in here and gave them only seven points.”
Kollock (6-4, 225), who recently committed to Washington, completed 18 of 34 passes for 219 yards. He ran for the Breakers’ only touchdown.
Friday’s game was Kollock’s only game without a touchdown pass in his two varsity seasons.
Grant Thomas and Blake Vinson had interceptions for El Dorado.
El Dorado coach Zach La Monda said the Golden Hawks’ plan was to pressure Kollock. El Dorado had him on the run on several occasions, forcing Kollock to unload passes from 10-20 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
“I think that a lot of teams allowed him to sit back in the pocket,” La Monda said. “He’s a great thrower, he’s tall and he’s one heck of a quarterback. And to top it off, he’s got a great receiving corps. I knew that if we wanted to have a chance to win we needed to get him and keep his reads from being simple and easy.”
El Dorado scored on its game-opening possession on Murray’s 24-yard touchdown run.
A 16-yard completion from Kollock to freshman Wyatt Bogdan set up Kollock’s 1-yard touchdown run to tie it 7-7.
The Golden Hawks scored on the first play of the second quarter, a 32-yard touchdown pass from Bento to Campuzano. El Dorado would carry its 14-7 lead into the second half. Bento threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Campuzano five minutes into the fourth quarter to make it 21-7.
