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Two-Minute Drill: CdM did not look ahead to rival Newport Harbor, Coach O’Shea says

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With the Battle of the Bay rivalry football game next week, Corona del Mar High Coach Dan O’Shea downplayed any notion that his Sea Kings overlooked a then-winless El Toro team, which won 13-7.

The Sea Kings (2-1) play host to Newport Harbor (2-0) at Orange Coast College on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

“We don’t overlook anybody, especially [a program] as good as [El Toro is],” O’Shea said. “These guys are one of the top teams in Orange County year in and year out, and we had our hands full and they outplayed us.”

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The Sailors have owned the Back Bay series against the Sea Kings, going 38-15.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

•Newport Harbor High’s 33-21 nonleague victory Friday at El Rancho was the first meeting between the two schools. But it did serve as a reunion for head coaches Jeff Brinkley and El Rancho’s Roddy Hiatt.

Brinkley, who is now 24-5-1 in the second game of the season at Newport Harbor, and Hiatt, in his first season at the helm of his alma mater, both coached on the same staff at now-defunct Excelsior High in 1981.

In addition, Brinkley, who starred at Excelsior High, and Hiatt competed against one another in the 605 (freeway) North-South All-Star Game in the 1960s.

— Barry Faulkner

•The stock of Newport Harbor junior quarterback Michael Bonds continues to rise. After he connected on his first seven passes and was 10 for 12 in the season-opening win over Rialto Eisenhower, the nephew of former UCLA quarterback Jimmy Bonds was six for six on his way to a 10-for-16 passing performance against El Rancho.

Bonds first incomplete pass was deflected by a defender near the line and his second was dropped by a receiver. Had those two been completed, he would have finished the first half nine for nine.

Bonds threw for 125 yards, including touchdown passes of 46, 12 and 11 yards to compliment junior tailback Cole Kinder’s 287 rushing yards.

— Barry Faulkner

•Cameron Curet seems to do it all for Costa Mesa.

As a wide receiver, the senior caught two 11-yard touchdown passes and added a 33-yard grab. He intercepted a pass as a linebacker, returned a punt 55 yards, and returned kickoffs for 32, 31 and 30 yards.

Oh, and Curet had a 71-yard punt, finishing with a 43.3 average. He also converted three extra-point kicks.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

•Newport Harbor High junior outside linebacker Tom Phillips was placed on a backboard and taken from the field by ambulance after a 22-minute delay late in the third quarter Friday.

And while it appeared it was a neck or spinal injury, the Newport Harbor boosters’ Facebook page later indicated that Phillips had a concussion and he was allowed to go home Friday night.

— Barry Faulkner

•The Estancia High football team was humbled by Pacifica, 38-8, in a nonleague game Friday night at Jim Scott Stadium, a result that seemed similar to last year’s 34-14 Mariners victory over the Eagles.

In the game last year at Bolsa Grande High, Pacifica was strong in the first half to build a 27-7 halftime lead. In Friday night’s game, the halftime lead was 28-0.

Estancia managed 79 net yards from scrimmage in 18 first-half plays, but 36 of those came on a pass from Connor Brown to Tyler Ross late in the half. They followed with a nine-yard run and 11-yard run by Jordan Balcazar, bringing the ball to the Pacifica three-yard line.

Down 21-0, the Eagles were into the red zone for the first time, but the drive stalled. They eventually went for it on fourth down, but a pass was deflected and intercepted by Pacifica.

From there, Pacifica went 69 yards in six plays, culminating on quarterback Nick Garcia’s 16-yard touchdown keeper run with a minute left in the half.

“It was just unfortunate,” Estancia Coach Mike Bargas said. “If it was 21-7 going into the half, I thought we could salvage [the game]. I always think we have a shot, I’m always optimistic.”

— Matt Szabo

•Costa Mesa cornerback Josh Snipes intercepted another pass, his fifth overall. The senior leads Orange County in interceptions.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

•Estancia senior quarterback Connor Brown completed five of 16 passes for 101 yards and an interception, but those numbers could have been higher. Three times in the game Brown passed it deep over the middle, once to Konrad O’Daly and twice to Tyler Ross, but each time Pacifica was called for pass interference on the play.

The Mariners committed pass interference twice on Estancia’s second drive of the second half. The second penalty gave the Eagles first down on the Pacifica 16-yard line, but the drive again stalled, and the eventual 40-yard field-goal attempt was short.

— Matt Szabo

•After averaging 279.5 yards and 3.5 touchdowns through the air, CdM finished with 114 yards and no touchdowns against El Toro.

Chase Garbers had 100 of the yards, on 13-of-27 passing, his worst completion percentage in his 14 games seeing time at quarterback with the Sea Kings. The junior was completing 76% of his passes through the first two games this year.

“They were concerned about our passing game,” said O’Shea, who hasn’t had a 100-yard rusher in any of the three games. “They did a good job of defending routes, and again we missed some open shots that we normally don’t miss.”

Thomas Walker led CdM with 10 carries for 78 yards.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

•Bargas praised senior running back Tyler Chacon, who got carries in the second half after Balcazar left due to back spasms. Chacon finished with eight carries for 28 yards, and he also had a 28-yard kickoff return.

“Chacon stepped up and did a nice job,” Bargas said. “In these kind of emergencies, people arise.”

— Matt Szabo

•Corona del Mar’s attempt at its third straight 3-0 start ended on the road Friday, as El Toro pulled off the upset.

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division poll, produced their lowest amount of points in three years. Their only points came with about 7½ minutes left in the fourth quarter and they avoided their first shutout in six years.

El Toro, which had lost to CdM in each of the last two years, won its first game of they year. The Chargers (1-2) opened the season with losses to La Habra and Chula Vista Eastlake.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

•Costa Mesa was unable to begin the season 3-0 for the first time in 15 years, losing to Katella, 40-21, at Jim Scott Stadium on Thursday.

The Mustangs (2-1) struggled to hold onto the ball, fumbling four times and throwing two interceptions. The turnover that hurt Costa Mesa the most was an interception in the end zone at the 9:27 mark in the fourth quarter. Costa Mesa, trailing 34-21, was on Katella’s four when cornerback Jason Paez picked off quarterback Ben Swanson for a second time.

Katella went on a 16-play, 99-yard scoring drive that took 6:14 off the clock. The Knights, ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll, sealed the game with their fifth rushing touchdown.

“We played a really good football team and it didn’t go our way,” said Costa Mesa Coach Glen Fisher, whose defense allowed 295 rushing yards and 247 passing yards. “We’ll get back to work.”

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

•Half of Swanson’s six passes went for touchdowns. The rest of the 10 weren’t as accurate.

The sophomore finished six of 16 for 85 yards with two interceptions. Swanson almost had two other passes picked off, but Katella defensive back Francisco Pineda dropped the ball twice in the opening quarter.

Swanson also fumbled three times and the Knights sacked him three times.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

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