National Surf League | The Game

The finale of the San Diego Game Series concluded today as Game 4 saw rival Orange County Octopus ending the Sea Lions’ 5 game winning streak. A large contingent of San Diego fans showed up in force for stop number 3 of the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup. Fans for both counties were undeterred by bad weather which included heavy rain and a strong south wind. The weather made surf conditions challenging to say the least while both teams battled through the elements coming .75 of a point of each other as Orange County led for the first time at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Octopus’ tremendous 4th quarter prevented the San Diego Sea Lions from continuing their winning streak with OC defeating San Diego, OC: 95 - SD: 87.

Orange County’s traveling team roster included X Games veteran and world ranked surfer Shane Beschen, Chris Ward, Timmy Reyes and Pat O’Connell, amongst a solid group of beachbreak specialists. The San Diego Sea Lions decided to have OC surf first, breaking the trend seen in Game 1 through to Game 3 of the Sea Lions Game week. Shane Beschen’s 7.0 score in the opening quarter saw the tall veteran surfer boost a clean front side air, earning him the most radical maneuver of the day award.

OC’s first quarter only amassed a score of 18.5 allowing San Diego’s first quarter group led by Taylor Knox, Che Stang and Daryl Goodrum to create the gap necessary to distance themselves from their arch rival. "First heat felt really good, I got loose on a couple", said Daryl Goodrum after scoring a 6.0. San Diego’s first quarter of 24.25 set the precedent with a 5.75 lead and three quarters left.

In the second quarter, OC sent out Ward, Reyes, Losness and Mike Hoisington, pushing the OC quarter score of 23.5 to a cumulative score of 42. Mike Losness’ 7.25 score showed the goofyfooter’s ferocious backside assault that included 4 radical maneuvers. Losness would eventually earn the Game MVP.

In the last two games, San Diego Sea Lions’ Rob Machado experienced a few low scores but today delivered solid scores in the SD second quarter with a 7.0. San Diego’s earlier lead narrowed to 3.75 points with a half time score of SD: 45.75 – OC: 42. "At half time we were staring at the scoreboard and we all knew we needed a major comeback" said OC’s Timmy Reyes.

By the bottom of the 3rd quarter, the Octopus upped the ante with a strong 25.5 quarter while the Sea Lions were only able to score a 21 quarter score, giving a .75 of a point lead to OC before the final quarter. OC’s Nate Yeomans’ amazing display of power and flow on a righthander wave scored a 7.25 while teammate Pat O’Connell also brought in the same score. The Sea Lions led by Che Stang and veteran surfer Taylor Knox could not post anything higher than Stang’s 6.75, creating the perfect situation for OC to turn on the heat for the fourth quarter.

The weather conditions continued to decline in the fourth quarter but it would prove to be one of the most successful of quarters for the Orange County Octopus in Game 4 of the Sea Lions Series. Initially, the OC fourth quarter looked like it would be a low scoring quarter as the group struggled with weak scores before lighting up the ocean with Reyes’ 7.5, Losness’ 8.5 and Ward’s eventual 6.5. Hoisington scored a 5.0 adding to the explosive 4th quarter score of 27.5 with just over 4 minutes left.

Quick calculations dealt a blow to the San Diego team dugout as the Sea Lions now needed a 28.25 fourth quarter to tie the game. Rob Machado and Austin Ware led the group’s journey towards the 28.25 benchmark only to fall considerably short of a possible tie game outcome with a quarter score of 20.25 and a cumulative
score of 87 to OC’s 95 points.

Orange County Octopus assistant coach Garth Tarlow said, "It didn’t look like it was going to happen, we started off slow and they were ahead at half time then at the 3rd quarter it turned around for us".

The 2005 Quiksilver California Cup features 5 teams from 5 counties in California with 100 of the top surfers in California competing for local pride. Today’s Game 4 marked the finale of the San Diego Sea Lions Game Week at Oceanside Pier. The Sea Lions continued their winning streak after defeating the Santa Cruz Stormriders at Steamer Lane, Los Angeles Arc Angels at Leo Carillo followed by three wins at home which included a close win over the talent stacked Ventura Pelicanos. Despite today’s loss against the Orange County Octopus, the Sea Lions continue their lead in the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup series. The Cup continues to Ventura’s C-street for yet another exciting battle in stop number 4, The Ventura Pelicanos Game Week series. The action begins May 4th through to May 8th.