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Two-minute drill (CdM CIF championship game)

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Corona del Mar High’s football team began the year ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division.

The Sea Kings ended the year on top.

Top-seeded CdM defeated No. 3 Garden Grove, 35-10, in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division championship game in front of 6,878 fans at Angel Stadium on Saturday, giving the Sea Kings back-to-back section titles.

The Sea Kings (12-2) closed out the season with 10 straight wins, their longest winning streak during a season in the program’s history. In his two years in charge of CdM, Coach Scott Meyer led the school to a 24-4 overall record.

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“It was just a great team win,” Meyer said. “These guys were a blast to coach and the coaches [were a blast] to coach with. [CdM is] a great place to be.”

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Meyer is the second coach to lead the Sea Kings to consecutive section championship wins. The first was Dave Holland, who guided CdM to Division VI crowns in 1988 and ’89.

Meyer’s team started the first three playoff games just as Holland’s did in 1989, shutting out the first three opponents.

The defense didn’t blank Garden Grove (11-3) in the finale, but the Sea Kings held the offense to almost 30 points below its per-game average, to 82 yards on the ground, intercepted the quarterback three times, one for a pick six, and recorded two sacks and two safeties.

“Our defense did a great job,” said Meyer, whose defense in the playoffs returned two interceptions for touchdowns and recorded three safeties.

In four postseason games, CdM’s defense outscored the opposition, 18-10.

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No CdM team has won three straight section titles. Meyer believes the program has a shot to three-peat because of the number of starters expected to return next year and the success the two lower-level programs had this season.

In this year’s title game, seven non-seniors started on defense and five on defense.

The defensive players were junior linebacker Alex Moore, junior strong safety Charlie Griffin, sophomore defensive end Justin Hess, sophomore free safety Barrett Barbato, sophomore cornerback Brett Greenlee, and sophomore linebackers Hoyt Crance and Robbie Hoffman.

On offense, the players were sophomore running back Cole Martin, sophomore receiver Bo St. Geme, junior center Giovanni Gentosi, junior center right tackle Ian Redman and junior right guard Brett Olson back.

In the championship game, Moore picked off the first play from scrimmage and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. He finished with a team-high eight tackles, 143 for the season.

Greenlee and Barbato also intercepted a pass, and Griffin and Hoffman each had seven tackles against Garden Grove.

Gentosi, Redman and Olson allowed senior quarterback Cayman Carter to throw for 203 yards and one touchdown and rush 21 times for 68 yards and two touchdowns.

The Sea Kings’ freshman team went 10-0 and the junior varsity 8-2.

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CdM senior Griff Amies finished the year with 22 field goals, tying him for the state’s single-season record.

Amies converted a 43-yard field-goal try with 8:45 left to play against Garden Grove. The field goal tied the record set by Chris Sailer of Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks in 1994.

Amies got another try in the fourth quarter to break the mark. He came up short on a 57-yard try.

Amies, whose 22 field goals is the Orange County single-season record, finished 22 of 30 in field-goal attempts this year.

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Carter broke the CdM single-season completion record of 153.

The senior ended the season with 168 completions after completing 16 of 27 passes for 203 yards and one touchdown against Garden Grove.

Carter broke Brent Lawson’s mark, which he set last year as a senior.

Carter was the ultimate dual threat at quarterback. He finished the season with 1,061 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Through the air, he produced 2,210 yards and 17 touchdowns, with only six interceptions.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

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