San Diego douses Los Angeles in Round One of SD Game Week
Thursday morning on the South Side of the Oceanside pier the San Diego Sea Lions delivered a shellacking to the Los Angeles Arc Angels, beating them 94.75 to 75.5.
In the fun waist- to chest-high surf, Rob Machado and Taylor Knox predictably went to town on the crossed-up peaks delivering solid blows to the Arc Angels. Machado with his Zen-like grace scored two 7.75s and Knox with his power gouges and brutal round houses posted a strong 8.25, "Those are the kind of scores that I like to post every time that I paddle out," Knox said. "I had some bad luck with waves, but we’re all out there together in the same waves, so it’s a level playing field".
But it was shredder Che Stang who took full advantage of the crossed-up peaks, hammering the last nail in the coffin with the highest quarter score of an 8.5 — and he was rewarded with not only with Surfer Mag’s best maneuver, but also the Game MVP.
L.A.’s performance wasn’t totally uninspiring; Alex Grey’s solid gaffs and boosting air reverses earned him the two highest scores for the Arc Angles with a 7.75 and a 6.75.
They also set some NSL records; lowest quarter total and lowest wave score. Shaun Burrell was overheard joking in the water "At least we made a record."
San Diego is now looking to sweep the remainder of Games in the Sea Lions Series (runs through April 24th), but have three strong rosters to contend with. The Sea Lions go against 4 and 1 Santa Cruz and the star studded Ventura Pelicanos and Orange County Octopus over the next few days.
Los Angeles Takes First-Ever Win
The Los Angeles Arc Angels made NSL history today defeating the talent stacked Ventura Pelicanos for their very first win in Game 4 of the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup Arc Angels Series. The new expansion team for the 2005 season raised their arms in jubilation after leading the Pelicanos throughout the 4 quarters with a final score of LA: 103 to VC: 93.75. Wave conditions had improved today for Game 4 with wave conditions head high to overhead. The Arc Angels were fired up for a win today as they have had 3 straight loses at home and a devastating first loss by 20 points to Santa Cruz during the Stormriders Series at Steamer Lane last week. One glance at the Ventura Pelicanos roster would intimidate any world class surfer which included the legendary Tom Curren, top 44 Timmy Curran, Dan Malloy along with a diverse contingent of wave specialists. Two former Ventura coaches, Brian Aresco and Sean Hayes from the 2004 season are also members of the official team roster. "It feels great to be in the lineup, all last year I was itching and scratching and now I’m surfing," says the former Ventura assistant coach Brian Aresco. After careful consideration, Arc Angels Coach Lamm opted for the Pelicanos to surf first in the top of the first quarter. Ventura’s first quarter group included Tim Curran, Blake Howard, Hank Mills and Brian Aresco. Pelicanos Coach Davey Smith’s initial strategy was to utilize goofy-footed players on Leo Carrillo’s long right-hander wave. Curran’s first wave of 5.75 indicated that today’s sets were sectioning off slightly more than in previous days, making wave selection even more crucial in Game 4. Hank Mills’s 6.5 was the highest score of the quarter as the group struggled to find their rhythm. Coach Smith made the decision to substitute Blake Howard with Adam Virs and Pete Musio for Brian Aresco. Neither sub could better the scores as wave conditions presented long lulls despite the usage of two time outs. Ventura ended their first quarter drive with a meager 19.25, the lowest quarter score in the entire Los Angeles Arc Angel series.
Timmy Curran, Ventura Pelicanos
Subsequently the opportunity was knocking loudly in the LA dugout as Coach Lamm and Wasilewski instructed over water radios to first quarter group Jordan Tappis, Brendan Hearne, Steven Lippman and Pascal Stansfield to go all out. Stansfield kept tight in the pocket of the wave with 5 impressive backside snaps scoring a 6.75 for his first wave while Tappis, Hearne and Lippman struggled to post anything over 3.5. Colin Giles substituted Lippman improving the score to a 3.75. Jim O’Brien, who had sat for most of the Arc Angel series on the bench, took over for Giles as a sub to score a 5.5. Tappis’ later scored a 7.75 after three wave attempts with tweaked floater followed by a big fin free off the top while emerging out of the whitewater. LA’s first quarter of 25.75 took advantage of Ventura’s low first quarter score of 19.25, with a leading margin of 6.5 points. In the second quarter, Ventura’s power-broker group included Tom Curren, Keoni Cuccia, Sean Hayes and Jeremy Ryan. Curren’s first three waves were all under 5.5 but it was on his fourth wave of 8.75 where all those years surfing right points shined through with amazing rhythm and precision on each turn. Not only was the Pelicanos bench cheering and applauding, but the LA bench was equally as stoked to witness the master surf. Announcer Sal Masekela humored the crowd as Curren acknowledged Masekela’s encouragement to pull an aerial, only to fall after each valiant attempt. Former head coach of Ventura, Sean Hayes was substituted by Kellen Ellison who did not improve on Hayes’ score. The group struggled as a whole to post the numbers, however the Pelicanos were able to get in the 20 point range with a quarter score of 21.25 and a cumulative running score of 40.5.
Tom Curren, Ventura Pelicanos
The LA Arc Angels set out on the bottom of the 2nd quarter wide eyed as the damage inflicted to Ventura could continue from the 1st quarter with a successful score. Shaun Burrell immediately put the heat on with a 6.5 followed by an improvement of 7.0 score. Alex Grey also pushed hard with a 6.25 while Justin Swartz substituted for Greg Browning posting a 4.25 along with Yves Bright’s 5.25 prior to be substituted by Bron Heussenstamm. The Arc Angels’ second quarter amounted to a 23 quarter score and a 48.75 cumulative running score, an incredible 8.25 lead over Ventura. During halftime, Ventura Coach Smith pumped up the Pelicanos’ 3rd quarter group to stay focused and wait for the right waves. Tim Curran immediately attacked all opportunities that came his way, scoring 6.5 onward to a stellar 8.0 score clearing a 30 yard section on the biggest set of the day. Adam Virs substituted Blake Howard and came through with a strong 6.75 while Hank Mills pulled a 6.25 and Musio came through with a 5.25. Ventura’s 3rd quarter 26.25 sent a message to LA that the Arc Angels were not guaranteed a win on Sunday. LA’s bottom of the 3rd quarter had a flurry of waves with scores no less than 5.5 for each surfer. Jim O’Brien found the golden nugget with an explosive 7.25 score that showcased the South bay local’s 2 big cutbacks followed by a massive floater and aggressive lip smack. Pascal Stansfield’s 8.0 had the entire crowd raise their arms with two huge vertical hits on the outside and four well linked hits on the inside. "I had a 3.0 and then I heard Sal [Masekela] just rousting me and when I got up, I said to myself I can’t fall", explained Stansfield. LA again continued their domination over Ventura with a 3rd quarter score of 26.50 cumulative score of 75.25 and an 8.5 lead over the Pelicanos.
Pascal Stansfield, LA Arc Angels
With all cylinders firing, the Pelicanos went all out in the first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter with Tom Curren scoring an exceptional 8.25, Cuccia’s incredibly drawn-out bottom turns for a 7.0 and rookie Kellen Ellison’s impressive 7.5. With 12:22 remaining and the first of 2 time outs called, the focus was placed on Jeremy Ryan to put a score on the board. Ryan would eventually score a 4.25 and dig deep for a wave that would give him an opportunity to score anything over a 7.0, however Ryan was not able to improve his score. At the end of the 4th quarter, the Pelicanos put in solid effort for a quarter score of 27 and a cumulative score of 93.75. The Los Angeles Arc Angels needed only an 18.75 to win the game as they entered the bottom of the 4th quarter. Throughout the LA Arc Angels Game series, LA had consistently scored over the 20-point mark, however anything can happen in The Game. The local fans at this point had their fingers crossed for their hometown boys. Alex Grey immediately came out of the gates with a 7.0, followed by an 8.0 and later an unheard of 9.25 best wave score, replacing the previous strong scores in the quarter. At 6:31, Bron Heussenstamm sat on a 4.0 with a broken fin, while Burrell was also sitting on a low score of 3. In a miraculous set, arguably of the entire game week, both Burrell and Heussenstamm caught waves scoring 7.5 and 6.5 respectfully pushing the Los Angeles Arc Angels over the 18.75 benchmark to defeat the Ventura Pelicanos with a final score of 103 (Q: 27.75) to VC’s 93.75.
Bron Heussenstamm, LA Arc Angels
In the Los Angeles dug out, Coach Mike Lamm was raised on the shoulders of the team and let out a roar of elation. Arc Angels assistant coach Strider Wasilewski said, "I’m just psyched, we wanted it all week, we knew we could get one if we decided to put it together, we thought we were going to get a win against OC and we didn’t get it and it’s so great to get it on the last day of the LA series with the support of the LA fans". Thoughts from Greg Browning after being substituted, "The guys were leaning on me to perform and I was probably the biggest let down, yet probably the most proud guy on this team right now. We have a chance and this win helps out with the morale, Coach Lamm and Strider did an amazing job leading us". Heavy scorer, Shaun Burrell said, "All week I really felt we had it in us to win, just a lot of emotion and coming through under pressure and something that I strive to be excellent at and those are the situations that I enjoy." Final Score: LA 103 def. VC’s 93.75
San Diego defeats Los Angeles in final moments of Game Three
The Los Angeles Arc Angels have proven that they will continue to fight for a win as a heavily stacked San Diego Sea Lions defeated the feisty Arc Angels in the final moments of the fourth quarter at the scenic Leo Carrillo State Beach, SD: 95.75 to LA: 92.
In the first quarter, Los Angeles opted for visiting team, the San Diego Sea Lions to start the top of the quarter. Veteran Game competitor, Taylor Knox along with Jeremy Sherwin, Benji Weatherly and Sean Marceron waited aggressively for sets as the tide slowly came in. Wave size was shoulder high with lengthy lulls however plus sets provided a flurry of waves for the next four quarters. SD’s first quarter group could not muster a score higher than Sherwin and Marceron’s 5.5 ending their quarter with a score of 20 and all 3 timeouts used.
The Arc Angels’ 1st quarter highlights include Brendan Hearn’s air scoring a 6.0 and Jordy Tappis’ 7.25 which included an impressive radical layback. LA heavy hitters Pascal Stansfield and Anthony Petruso could not improve on a score higher than a 4 and a 5.5 respectively. LA set the pace with a 22.75 over SD’s 20-point quarter.
The SD Sea Lions entered the top of the 2nd quarter with zero time outs. A nervous coach David Barr explained his thoughts on entering a quarter with no time outs, "You don’t want to do that. Usually, you’re done when you do that, but we got some help from the Gods".
SD’s stacked group of Rob Machado, Che Stang, Austin Ware and Dean Randazzo certainly went all out as they posted an aggressive quarter with Machado starting the quarter with a 9.0 wave. Machado’s fluid and awe inspiring fast cutbacks, followed by a series of snaps and off the tops sent the crowd and the SD bench into a frenzy. For the remainder of the quarter, Machado stood on top of the rock next to the break, coaching his three teammates into a three-wave set. Stang squeezed three full maneuvers into a wave while Randazzo took one of the best-shaped waves of the day. In the final seconds, Ware attempted to improve his 5.75 only to score a 5.5. Collectively, the group delivered a 6.25 improvement over San Diego’s first quarter of 20 points for a 26.25 2nd quarter.
Los Angeles’ 2nd quarter group included the consistently high scoring Alex Grey, Shaun Burrell, former OC team member Bron Huessenstamm and Venice Beach local, Justin Swartz. Grey opened the bottom of the 2nd quarter going for broke while only scoring a 2.75. Swartz’s first and only wave was the highest score for this group, with a 6.75 on good wave selection, yet failed to fully utilize every section. Huessenstamm could not improve on a 4.0 as Coach Lamm decided to throw in Dave Pinto in place of Bron right after Grey scored his highest score of 6.0 for the quarter. Low wave opportunities presented a slew of sub 4.0 scores as the large framed Pinto attempted to improve Bron’s score. Burrell improved to a 5.0 surfing incredibly quick, hitting the lip 3 times with the last snap coinciding with spray from his first maneuver. The Arc Angels’ 21.75 quarter allowed the Sea Lions to take the lead with SD: 46.25 to LA: 44.5.
In the top of the 3rd quarter, San Diego’s 1st quarter group returned with Taylor Knox opening the quarter after a lengthy wait scoring only a 2.75 just before a well placed timeout. Benji Weatherly was substituted by "The Professor", Zach Keenan, who scored a 5.75 consisting of three solid cutbacks and a completed air off the closeout. While sitting on a comfortable 5.75, Keenan selected a wave that the rest of the team passed up, working the outside followed by a completed air and three more hits off the lip. The Professor’s score had now improved to a 7.0, the highest of the 3rd quarter SD group. "I’m glad that I got a decent wave, the rest of our team really struggled because of a lot of lulls but the opportunity came and I was lucky it came my way" said Keenan. The Sea Lions ended their second quarter with only a 21.25 and a cumulative running score of 67.5.
The Arc Angels saw an opportunity to make up the loss they had encountered after the first half, with Brendan Hearn selecting a well linked wave, clearing a huge section with a floater and a off the top off the closeout, scoring a 6.75. Pascal Stansfield who had earlier bogged on a 4.0, delivered a series of backside snaps ending with a huge fin free smash for a 6.5. LA took the lead with a 24.25 3rd quarter score and a cumulative score of 68.75 over SD’s 67.5.
It was in the top of the 4th quarter where San Diego unleashed a fury to crush LA once and for all. Kyle Knox substituted for Austin Ware scoring a solid 6.25 with full fins exposed on several maneuvers. Machado’s 8.0 wave was so well read as he attacked three huge sections, smashing the lip to bits. Randazzo’s 6.5 wave showed an unprecedented display of power with three massive gouges in the pocket right before a strategically placed time out. At 3 minutes and 40 seconds, the SD team had only a 25.25 for the quarter, which meant that LA needed only a 24-point 4th quarter to tie the Sea Lions. In an attempt to improve Randazzo’s 6.5, Daryl Goodrum was thrown in to improve Randazzo’s score without much luck. However, with 20 seconds left in the final SD quarter along with incoming sets approaching, Che Stang let the first wave pass and took off on the second of the set improving his score from a 4.5 to an explosive game changing 7.5. The elated Sea Lions had now increased the pressure for LA as the Arc Angels now needed a 27-point 4th quarter score to tie San Diego.
LA’s 4th quarter group started with aerialist Justin Swartz’s attempted superman maneuver. Ted Navarro, Alex Grey and Shaun Burrell pushed hard to collectively score 7.0’s each to surpass the 27-quarter benchmark to defeat San Diego. Burrell’s electrifying 7.0 score which improved his 4.75 sent the LA bench into cheers and stomping in the dugout along with roars from a large contingent of Arc Angel fans. At 3:26, LA’s quarter score stood at 22.5, a sizeable yet not impossible 4.5 differential to make up. Swartz was substituted by Greg Browning, in order to better Swartz’s 5.0. However, Browning was not able to find the opportunity to boost the score, "I was overly excited to best describe what was going through my mind, knowing that we stood a good chance against a great team and I wish I had it in me to provide that score" said Browning. As the time ran out, it was clear that LA would have to suffer a 3rd straight loss at home and 4 losses since the Santa Cruz Stormriders series last week at Steamer Lane.
LA’s fourth quarter score was a 23.25. San Diego defeated the Arc Angels 95.75 to 92. "I think the people that are here watching they see what we got and they know we have a chance. It’s a lot of lot little things — maybe if San Diego didn’t have Machado things would have probably been different" laughed Arc Angels Shaun Burrell.
San Diego Coach David Barr commented, "If we had LA’s wave opportunities we would have reached over the 100-point mark, it came down to clock management. It was an amazing day and a great win".
Los Angeles Arc Angels lose to Orange County Octopus in overtime
Game 2 of the Los Angeles Arc Angels series had LA fans and surfers standing in anticipation of a possible overtime win over Orange County Octopus. Both teams battled it out in shoulder to head high surf only to reach a surprising tied game of 102 points a piece. In a challenging four quarters where LA led OC, the Orange County Octopus defeated the Los Angeles Arc Angeles in overtime — 124.5 to LA’s 114.25.
OC’s powerhouse brokers, Chris Ward, Timmy Reyes and Pat O’Connell were in town with Reyes traveling half-way across the globe from Sydney straight to LAX the night before, "My back is feeling pretty sore and I have a tick in my neck but I’m stoked to be here" said Reyes.
OC’s first quarter of 24.5 set the rhythm with Mike Losness scoring a 7.5 with super vertical hits. Pat O’Connell’s 6.25 ride was on a decent sized wave however O’Connell had a slight error on his second hit, but recovered well as he threw to the inside and utilized every section thereafter nearly perfectly.
Los Angeles’ first quarter crew sent a message to the OC bench that the Arc Angels were not intimidated by OC’s deep roster. Jordan Tappis’ incredible 8.25 had the LA bench going crazy with each hit. Anthony Petruso’s 7.25 carried the group to a 26 first quarter score, creating a margin of 1.5 over OC’s first quarter.
In the second quarter, a superstar group of Chris Ward, Timmy Reyes, Mike Hoisington and Mike Todd hit the water. Ward’s 8.0 score which broke the second time out, wowed the crowd with a crucial air with 100 yards still left on the shoulder of Ward’s wave. Had he fallen, one of the best waves of the day would have gone unridden. Reyes scored a 5.25 on a small wave displaying his agility in challenging conditions. Hoisington charged in the lower half of the quarter, upping his zero score straight to a 7.0. Hosington explained the sudden jolt in scores, "I’m just stoked to be here and watching Pat O’Connell, Reyes and Chris Ward, they inspire me. I just love to surf and when I got on that wave I got excited and wanted to blow it up". OC’s second quarter ended with a 23-point total and a 47.5 cumulative running score.
LA’s second quarter showed coach Mike Lamm’s determination to set the momentum over OC. Alex Grey’s decision to break the time-out within seconds, proved to be one of Grey’s top waves with a stellar 8.25 wave. Shaun Burrell pulled a 7.25, making the best of a waist high wave while throwing an alley-oop for good measure. LA continued their lead over OC with a quarter score of 24.25 and a cumulative running score of 50.25 over
OC’s 47.5.
Pat O’Connell and Mike Losness led the 3rd quarter for OC. Losness’ well linked vertical maneuvers scored a 7.5 while O’Connell’s 8.5 text book surfing displayed why "Pato" is no where near retiring from competitive surfing. Dino Andino was substituted by Chris Waring, improving a 4.25 to 4.75 as OC pushed hard to narrow the LA’s leading margin with a quarter score of 27 and a cumulative running score of 74.5. Pre-season forecasts for top performing teams of the 2005 Quiksilver California Cup certainly did not favor the LA Arc Angels. Yet at the 3rd quarter mark, the Arc Angels continued to lead over the very strong if not intimidating OC Octopus. Jordan Tappis’ 7.25 along with strong scores from Hearne, Stansfield and Petruso pushed LA to lead over a very narrow margin of 75.25 to OC’s 74.5.
In the top of the 4th quarter, the heavily stacked OC crew of C. Ward, Hoisington, Todd and Reyes went off. Reyes had scored a 5.25 in the 2nd quarter only to show his true skills, scoring an 8.0 with big linking maneuvers displaying power and flow without a single flat spot. While Ward raced down a section trying to repeat last heat’s score but failed to stick the air reverse ending up with a 4.25. Ward later scored a 5.5 best wave after digging his rail on a second turn. Hoisington’s 6.75 pushed OC over the century mark to a cumulative running score of 100.75. OC ended their 4th quarter with the highest quarter score of 27.5 between both teams and a final score of 102.
By this point, Los Angeles was fired up to taste their first win ever as an expansion team especially after yesterday’s loss to Santa Cruz. Bron Huessenstamm substituted Justin Swartz while Colin Giles followed by Yves Bright were thrown in to push Greg Browning’s scores. LA started the bottom of the 4th quarter with a blown take off and two flat waves. However, Bron turned things around with a super critical wave, yet lacked flow and control scoring a 6.25. The young Alex Grey taking the lead off Bron, took off on another critical wave linking an incredible floater to a lip bash to end his 7.5 wave. Coaches Lamm and Wasilewski pumped up Shaun Burrell to get ready for the next set as he sat on a low score of 3.5. With wave priority and the support of his team mates, Burrell took off on a solid wave to improve his 3.0 to a 6.25. With moments left in the final quarter, Colin Giles was thrown in to substitute Browning. Giles would not be able to improve on Browning’s 3.5 as the LA coaches make a split decision to throw in Yves Bright as Bright lit up Leo Carillo State beach with a miracle 6.75 wave tying the game 102 points for the LA Arc Angels and a very surprised OC Octopus.
Not expecting an overtime quarter, the OC crew of O’Connell, Losness/Hoisington, Chris Ward and Timmy Reyes quickly suited up for the 12-minute overtime battle. Wave conditions at this point continued to dwindle, yet the group was able to pull in a 22.5 overtime score with O’Connell and Reyes posting the highest scores of 6.75 each. Los Angeles was not as lucky as wave opportunities were scarce and the OT group of Tappis, Stansfield, Grey and Burrell posted only a 12.25 OT quarter score ending their quest for their first victory with a final score of 114.25 to OC’s 124.5.
Although LA has lost 3 straight games, LA’s Brendan Hearne expressed, "It was a valiant effort we went against some really good guys and we had a good showing, we have underground guys like Jordan Tappis and a lot of the guys on the team and it was really cool to go against guys like OC and come out like we did".
Coach Lamm, "OC before they went for warm ups, they were laughing and had their groms thinking that they were going to blow us out, but we had their backs against the wall till the fourth quarter. I’m really proud of my guys."
Santa Cruz defeats Los Angeles in Day One of the LA California Cup
All cylinders were firing as the Los Angeles Arc Angels squared off once again against the 3 and 1 Santa Cruz Stormriders. After a brutal loss Santa Cruz’s Steamer Lane of 20 points to the Stormriders, the Arc Angels narrowly lost in the last few moments of the fourth quarter by a margin of 5.25, SC: 106.50 to LA: 101.25.
Although the surf was only waist to chest high, Leo Carillo allowed for some impressive surfing. As the tide came in, what looked like a lake at 10am became a surfer’s playground by noon.
Santa Cruz opted to surf first with a stacked line up consisting of veterans and young guns Josh Mulcoy, Sean Peterson, Jason "Ratboy" Collins and Jonny Craft. Josh Mulcoy posted an impressive 7.0 wave that bowled up threw the middle section, but it was in the close of the top of the first quarter when Ratboy’s explosive series of snaps for an 8.25 wave gave the Stormriders dugout plenty to cheer about as they ignored jabs from the Arc Angels bench.
The Arc Angels followed up with a lineup that aimed at giving literally unknown rippers and stars alike a chance. Coach Lamm introducing interesting substitution strategies, sent out Colin Giles, Brendan Hearne, Pascal Stansfield and heavy hitter Anthony Petruso.
Putting rookies in proved to be a gamble for the veteran coach as various Arc Angels failed to post above a 5. Nonetheless Coach Lamm felt he did the right thing, "we have a bunch of guys who work their butt off, and I want them to at least have a shot at wearing a jersey and dealing with the pressures of professional surfing," he said.
However, as soon as the rookies were subbed, Pascal Stansfield showed up with several successive backside snaps scoring an impressive 7.0. In the end, the coaches sub strategy wasn’t all for naught when Venice Beach local Justin Swartz increased the score by a significant margin.
Due to a time out error on behalf of Los Angeles’ first quarter group, in the second quarter the Arc Angels had to witness a 6.5 opener from Adam Replogle, and a 4.5 from Josh Loya. The rest of the heat struggled as the young Noi K struggled with a series of 3s until he stepped up to a solid 6 combined with Tyler Fox’s 5.25. The Stormriders’ quarter score was 25.5 for a cumulative score of 53.5.
The Arc Angels tried to hold on in the bottom of the second quarter with a quarter score of 24.5, only 1 point shy of the Stormriders’s 25.5. But, LA continued to fall into poor wave rhythm with scores all under 6.0. Shaun Burrell sitting on a 4.0 delivered an inspiring 9.0 deserving performance
with a series of backhand snaps bringing the LA bench to a roar. LA would trail SC by 3.5 for a cumulative score of 50.
After half time the SC crew pushed onward in the third quarter with Rat Boy boosting a huge frontside lien air for a score of 6.5. The rest of the group struggled with cores less than 5 until Josh Mulcoy was awarded a 6.75 for smooth and polished turns in the less than perfect surf. The Stormriders continued their momentum with a 25.25 quarter score.
The Arc Angels in the bottom of the 3rd quarter would utilize Greg Browning, substituting Browning for Justin Swartz. However, Browning was unable to better Swartz’s 4.0. Brendan Hearn’s impressive rail surfing led the quarter with an explosive 7.0 while Anthony Petruso found himself dwindling in low scores until he found the wave he wanted and scored a 6.75. LA again trailed SC by only 1 point for the quarter and 4.50 for the cumulative score SC: 78.75- LA: 74.25.
The Stormriders entered the 4th quarter knowing it was do or die time. Replogle and Loya attacked their waves as if they were at the Steamer Lane. Replogle’s second wave score of 8.25 bettered an already strong 7.0, while Loya wowed the crowd with an MVP wave score of 9.25. SC continued to push as hard as they could with numerous substitutions equating to a 27.75 quarter and a final score of 106.5 .
The Arc Angels knew what they were up against as the bottom of the 4th quarter came on. Alex Gray was sitting on a 2.25 before lighting up Leo Carillo with an astounding 9.25 wave all the way to the rocks. While Shaun Burrell lit it up with a 7.25, Bron Hussenstamm and Jordy Tappis attempted but were not able to better their sub 6 scores. In the end the Arc Angels gave as much as they could to narrow the gap with Santa Cruz even with a strong 4th quarter score of 27. Again, after an incredible showing, the Arc Angels were defeated.
The Santa Cruz Stormriders are now 4 and 1 and have convinced the surfing world they are a force to be reckoned with. With a near-loss against the San Diego Sea Lions, the Stormriders are looking toward the series in Oceanside for a chance at revenge. Meanwhile, the LA Arc Angels are looking to begin their winning streak in a Game against defending Champs the Orange County Octopus Friday at Leo Carillo State Beach.
