Mini Battle of the Bay: CdM freshmen streak past Tars

The Corona del Mar High varsity football team’s 29-game winning streak may be the longest in Orange County, but it’s not the longest in its own program.

The Sea Kings’ freshmen team thumped Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, 43-7, on Thursday at Newport Harbor to extend its winning streak to 40. The last time CdM lost a freshmen game was Sept. 23, 2010, when the Sailors posted a 17-14 victory.

The Sea Kings were particularly unbeatable in the first half, as they scored on all six possessions to take a 43-0 lead into intermission.

Running back James Murphy compiled all of his 138 rushing yards on 15 first-half carries, including two first-quarter touchdowns.

CdM quarterback Spencer Hook completed five of his eight passes for 102 yards and two more scores, all in the opening half.

CdM receiver Tae Le caught touchdown tosses of 10 and 23 yards to finish with four receptions for 69 yards, all in the first quarter.

“We do a good job on offense, so we love to take the ball right off the [opening] kickoff and go right down and score,” CdM Coach Jerry Jelnick said. “We’ve been fortunate enough to score on that first possession about 90% of the time to put teams in a hole right away.”

The hold quickly deepened for the Sailors (1-2) who mistakenly ignored the ensuing kickoff that came to rest just inside the sideline. The Sea Kings (4-0) recovered at the Newport Harbor 10-yard line and, one play later, Hook hit Le with a touchdown pass.

Murphy’s conversion kick made it 14-0 with just 90 seconds elapsed.

CdM’s scoring drives were four, one, five, five, six and 12 plays. Meanwhile, the Sea Kings’ defense was surrendering just 12 total yards, until the Sailors upped that total to 41 in the final minute of the half.

CdM, which has now outscored opponents, 123-21, did not punt.

Only when the Sea Kings put in their reserves did the Sailors begin to mount any consistent success.

Newport Harbor drove 85 yards on 12 plays to avert the shutout, as quarterback Cole O’Neil threw a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Billy Hanck with 4:26 left in the game.

O’Neil, the nephew of Danny O’Neil, who starred at Mater Dei High before leading Oregon to the Pac-10 championship in 1994 and earning Co-MVP honors in the 1995 Rose Bowl won by Penn State, was the Tars’ clear leader on both sides of the ball.

His greatest impact came on defense, for which he consistently punished ballcarriers from his middle linebacker spot.

Tailback Chace Jacques also stood out for the Sailors, earning 96 yards on 12 rushing attempts. Jacques had a 30-yard run just before halftime, then broke off gains of 48 and 20 yards on his only fourth-quarter carries.

CdM’s Stephen Batcheller and Solomon Swensen intercepted passes in the second half for the Sea Kings and Swensen recovered the aforementioned kickoff to set up CdM’s second touchdown.

Other defensive stalwarts for the winners included inside linebackers Jake Berkey and Jack Fairon, as well as noseguard Brennan Mabry, tackles Joe Falzetti and Kyle Petrucci, and safety Nathaniel Espinoza.

CdM’s offensive line of tackles Connor Reid and Petrucci, guards Fairon and Kellan Ramirez, as well as Mabry at center, consistently gashed the defense, allowing CdM ballcarriers frequent unobstructed passage to the second level.

“We’ve been very fortunate the last couple years to have had some good linemen,” Jelnick said. “And it all starts with them.”

Berkey rushed for 56 yards on seven carries, including a four-yard touchdown that created a 36-0 lead just 99 seconds into the second quarter.

Falzetti capped the scoring for CdM by barreling into the end zone from two yards out with 3:09 left in the third quarter. It was his only carry of the game.

Newport Harbor first-year coach Oscar Constandse, a who also played with distinction at the school, praised O’Neil and Jacques. He also was happy with the way his team battled after halftime.

“I think the boys came out in the second half and played with a lot of pride,” Constandse said. “They were down but they played hard and began to execute. They didn’t let the score break their spirit. I thought they showed a lot of poise.”

*

Corona del Mar 43, Newport Harbor 7

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Corona del Mar 29 – 14 – 0 – 0 — 43

Newport Harbor 0 – 0 – 0 – 7 — 7

FIRST QUARTER

CdM – Murphy 4 run (Murphy kick), 10:37.

CdM – Le 10 pass from Hook (Murphy kick), 10:30.

CdM – Murphy 6 run (Le pass from Murphy), 6:24.

CdM – Le 23 pass from Hook (Murphy kick), 1:27.

SECOND QUARTER

CdM – Berkey 4 run (Berkey kick), 10:21.

CdM – Falzetti 2 run (Murphy kick), 3:09.

FOURTH QUARTER

NH – Hanck 5 pass from O’Neil (Blake kick), 4:26.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CdM – Murphy, 15-138, 2 TDs; Berkey, 7-56, 1 TD.

NH – Jacques, 12-96.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CdM – Hook, 5-8-0, 102 , 2 TDs.

NH – O’Neil, 4-9-1, 27 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CdM – Le, 4-69, 2 TDs.

NH – Hankc, 2-13, 1 TD.