San Pasqual defeated Calrsbad in a notable early-season meeting in SoCal's Varsity White division.

Carlsbad had come into the game 1-0 in league play while San Pasqual was 1-0-1 after a somewhat surprising tie with Mira Mesa before the Christmas break.

This time around, San Pasqual put in a better performance and came away 34-17 winners.

"The team put together one of their best performances of the season so far by sticking to their new structures and game plan," said Coach Casey Clark. "The foundations have been laid over the last few years which has made the transition to playing at a higher level much easier."

Openside flanker Jacob Petrungaro has been playing especially well and had a big game. Strong, fast, and learning to anticipate moves, Petrungaro is developing some of the darker skills in the breakdown and led from the front. Hooker Matt Chairez has been a terror running with the ball as well as doing the regular jobs in the set piece, while lock Taylor Martin has been getting better and better each week.

The forwards certainly set the tone, but San Pasqual's backs have been good, too, with Ryan Haar showing excellent speed and an ability to handle contact - both on attack and defense - at wing.

Also winning over the weekend was Los Alamitos, which won last year's Varsity White title with a team that was mostly sophomores. They did, however, graduate some seniors and have had some rebuilding to do.

Senior Dylan Ramirez scored three tries in a 48-22 victory over Saddleback Valley. Four forwards scored tries: Matt Faupusa, Ken Sale, Kaenaan Ropati, and freshman and Joseph Nuez. 

Both teams employed the kick-and-chase - an effective way to make territory when done well. But generally the Los Al deep three was ready to handle Saddleback's kicking.

Los Alamitos, said Coach Dan Chase, kicked too late, with contact being too close, making for poor kicks.

"Both teams did a good job at capitalizing on mistakes," said Chase. "We just made fewer mistakes."

Los Alamitos was able to get the upper hand in part by not committing too many players to the breakdown. But the resulting overlaps weren't exploited, said Chase.

"One thing that helps our boys is setting the players personal goals for the game," said Chase. "These steps help our boys to gain the desire to outperform other teams. Both teams play an intense game. Our overall fitness, size, and speed allowed us to play our game and gain the victory."