IRVINE — The Laguna Beach football team has a pair of prolific players in tight end Ryner Swanson and quarterback Jackson Pollock, but it was the Breakers’ defense that took over the game in the second half.

The unit held Northwood scoreless in the final two quarters and collected a pair of interceptions as Laguna Beach won 35-21 Friday night at Irvine High.

“That’s the first thing we said is that we shut them out in the second half, super impressive,” Laguna Beach coach John Shanahan said.

With the game tied at halftime 21-21, the Breakers (2-1) began the second half with a six-play, 61-yard scoring drive capped by a 12-yard run by Kollock.

Kollock threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns but the 6-4 junior also showcased his dual-threat ability with a pair of rushing scores.

“He can do it,” Shanahan said of Kollock’s running ability. “We made a commitment to it last week, we’re going to run the ball, if they’re going to put five in the box, we’re going to run the quarterback, if things break down, we’ll cut him loose and it showed.”

The Timberwolves (1-2) went on a 13-play drive looking to even the score again but their drive stalled after an offensive pass interference penalty and they were forced to punt.

Laguna Beach running back Nick Rogers, who was bottled up for most of the game, finally used a sharp jump-cut to break loose for an 80-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that gave the Breakers a two-touchdown cushion.

Northwood quarterback Eddie Ma began the game by completing his first 11 passes. The Timberwolves scored touchdowns on their first two drives, a 38-yard catch by Eddie Petrushin and a 16-yard reception by Ryan Murphy.

Timberwolves coach JC Clarke was pleased with the play of the offensive line which helped Ma get in a nice rhythm to start the game.

“We blocked much better so I was really happy with the offense and the offensive line,” Clarke said.

Laguna Beach kept pace with Northwood as they also scored on their first possession. That opening drive was capped by a 9-yard TD pass from Kollock to Swanson. The BYU-commit caught 6 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Kollock and Swanson connected again to tie the score 14-14 on a 49-yard strike. Swanson took a short completion and raced down the sideline as he flexed his breakaway speed.

Later in the second quarter, Kollock gave the Breakers their first lead after his 19-yard run made it 21-14.

Northwood knotted it up with seven seconds left before halftime thanks to an amazing one-handed catch by Cole Hidalgo.

Hidalgo finished with 10 catches and 123 yards.

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