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High School Football: CdM shuts out Irvine

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IRVINE — Some fans before the Irvine High game talked about the solar-powered canopies going up in the parking lot.

When they made it to the school’s football stadium, it was Corona del Mar providing all the power.

The Sea Kings lit up the Vaqueros, 41-0, on Thursday night and continued their dominant play in the Pacific Coast League. The league favorites are looking for their first challenge in league and they expect it in a week.

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Next for CdM (6-2, 3-0 in league) is a home contest against Woodbridge, which coaches picked to win the league title before the season. The way the Sea Kings are performing in all facets of the game, they are going to be tough to beat in the final two league contests.

Coach Scott Meyer called the latest performance the most complete turned in by his Sea Kings, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll. They accomplished it against the fifth-ranked Vaqueros (4-4, 1-2), blanking them to produce the Sea Kings’ first shutout of the season.

“Three weeks in a row we’ve played pretty well on all sides of the ball,” said Meyer, whose team came away with three turnovers.

In league, the high-powered CdM offense is averaging 44 points per game and the stout defense is allowing just 11.3 points per game. Don’t forget that the kicking game, with Grif Amies converting two more field goals and Luke Napolitano recording a 60-yard punt, excelled against Irvine.

The Sea Kings are primed to claim their second league title in three seasons. In the way is No. 6 Woodbridge, which features the biggest line in league as well as athletes.

“We’ve had a lot of games against really big guys like especially [Newport] Harbor,” said Nick Storm, CdM’s left tackle. “[The Sailors have] guys that are 260 and 270 [pounds] and we held our ground and took it to them [in a 27-26 loss]. We’re going to have a good week of practice and then go hit [Woodbridge] in the mouth.”

Storm and the rest of CdM’s line controlled the line of scrimmage. They paved the way for quarterback Cayman Carter and tailback Kai Wilson to rush for 108 and 104 yards, respectively.

Wilson, who had eight carries, made the most of his touches, scoring two touchdowns. Wilson’s most spectacular touchdown came on an 83-yard run down the Irvine sideline midway through the third quarter.

Wilson topped 100 yards on the ground for the third straight game and Carter for the third time this season. Carter also threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

It took Carter a couple of series to get going.

The Sea Kings’ first two drives resulted in punts. Luckily for them, Irvine muffed Napolitano’s second punt inside its 10-yard line.

The fair catch bounced off the punt returner’s hands and toward the sideline. But before the ball went out of bounds, Chad Redfearn recovered the fumble on the eight for CdM.

Two plays later, Carter threw a six-yard fade in the end zone to Chris Johnstone. The touchdown pass was the first of two for Carter in the opening quarter.

Back-to-back sacks by defensive linemen Tim Reinhardt and Devin Trejo forced Irvine to punt on the following possession, giving Carter another opportunity to throw a touchdown.

After hooking up with Johnstone three times for 43 yards on the drive, Carter went to someone else, someone who was wide open in the end zone.

Carter hit running back Cole Martin for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The play gave CdM a 14-0 lead and marked the first time Carter hit a tailback for a score this year.

Martin and Carter almost hooked up again for a touchdown right before halftime. Again, Martin was all alone as he caught a 32-yard pass, but he came up three yards shy of the end zone.

On the next play, Carter took care of it by himself, running in for a touchdown. Whether it was with his right arm or legs, Carter energized the Sea Kings.

david.carrillo@latimes.com

Twitter: @DCPenaloza

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Pacific Coast League

Corona del Mar 41, Irvine 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CdM 14 – 10 – 14 – 3 – 41

Irvine 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

FIRST QUARTER

CdM – Johnstone 6 pass from Carter (Amies kick), 5:08.

CdM – Martin 13 pass from Carter (Amies kick), 0:28.

SECOND QUARTER

CdM – Amies 28 FG, 3:32.

CdM – Carter 3 run (Amies kick), 0:26.

THIRD QUARTER

CdM – Wilson 83 run (Amies kick), 5:41.

CdM – Wilson 3 run (Amies kick), 3:02.

FOURTH QUARTER

CdM – Amies 28 FG, 3:32.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CdM – Wilson, 8-104, 2 TDs.

Irv – Renteria, 12-45.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CdM – Carter, 13-25-0, 153, 2 TDs.

Irv – Goodman, 5-14-0, 54.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CdM – Johnstone, 5-54, 1 TD.

Irv – Mccrossan, 2-14.

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