Two-Minute Drill: Sea Kings seek outright league title
Corona del Mar High made history last week by winning a third straight league title.
The Sea Kings clinched at least a share of the Pacific Coast League championship with a 35-13 win against Beckman at Tustin High.
One league contest remains for CdM (8-1, 4-0 in league) and it can claim the crown outright with a victory against Northwood (7-2, 3-1) at Irvine High on Friday.
The Sea Kings haven’t lost to Northwood in league in the last four years, going 3-0-1 during the stretch. Northwood tied CdM, 29-29, in 2010, when the Sea Kings finished as unbeaten league champions.
The Sea Kings prefer to go perfect in league for a third time in a row. They are looking for their 15th consecutive win in league.
“That’s the goal [to] win out,” CdM quarterback Chase Garbers said.
The Sea Kings are ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division poll. The playoffs are a couple of weeks away, and if they can go on and win an unprecedented fourth straight section title, they most likely will earn a berth to the CIF State Southern California Regional Division II playoffs. The Sea Kings are ranked No. 4 in the CIF State Division II South rankings by CalHiSports.com
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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•For Newport Harbor, qualifying for the CIF Southern West Valley Division playoffs is simple. If the Sailors beat Fountain Valley on Friday, they earn the Sunset League’s No. 3 playoff berth.
The Sailors control their own destiny after they routed Marina, 49-15, last week at Davidson Field. With one league game left, Newport Harbor is in third place in league 2-2, one game ahead of both Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.
A Newport Harbor loss to Fountain Valley and a Huntington Beach win against Marina will put the playoffs out of the hands of the Sailors, Barons and Oilers. If those two scenarios play out, Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said a coin flip would determine the league’s third guaranteed postseason berth because the Sailors would have defeated the Oilers, the Oilers would have beaten the Barons, and the Barons would have knocked off the Sailors.
Newport Harbor has missed the playoffs only six times under Brinkley, who took over the Sailors in 1986. The last time the Sailors failed to make the playoffs was in 2008, when they and four teams in league shared first place. A random tiebreaker eliminated two first-place teams, Newport Harbor and Edison, from the postseason.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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•Estancia High football coach Mike Bargas, was like all coaches after a victory, happy following his Eagles’ 35-14 Orange Coast League triumph over host Godinez on Friday at Segerstrom High.
But perhaps more apparent in his postgame behavior were empathy, compassion and respect for Godinez players and coaches, led by head coach Aaron Kaye.
“They have great kids and they have a great attitude,” Bargas said after congratulating the Godinez players and sharing an embrace with Kaye, with whom he delivered a message of praise. “Coach Kaye is a personal friend of mine who has grown to become a pretty good friend over the last couple years.”
Bargas later told a Godinez coach to hang in there, as the Grizzlies fell to 0-8, 0-3, yet showed supreme grit in paring a 28-0 deficit to 28-14, then recovering an onside kickoff to further threaten the lead, before Estancia reestablished control.
“I told the coaches to hang in there, because I’ve been in that situation before,” said Bargas, whose team won its sixth straight game to improve to 7-2, 4-0 in league, and set up a league title showdown with Saddleback (6-3, 4-0) on Friday at 7 at Estancia.
— Barry Faulkner
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•Garbers continues to be precise throwing the football for CdM.
Peter Bush returned as the starting quarterback last week, but it was Garbers, the backup, who shined.
The sophomore completed nine of 11 passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns. In the past three games, two with Bush out with an ankle injury, Garbers has completed 81% of his passes for 558 yards and nine touchdowns, with no interceptions. Garbers has also rushed for three touchdowns during the three-game span.
CdM Coach Scott Meyer said he plans to use both signal callers, just as he has for most of the season. In Bush’s first start since the league opener at Irvine on Oct. 10, he was six of 12 passing for 38 yards, while rushing seven times for nine yards.
For the season, Bush has completed 74 of 121 passes for 993 yards and six touchdowns, with four interceptions. The junior has also rushed 71 times for 242 yards and seven touchdowns.
Garbers is 55 of 72 for 766 yards and 10 touchdowns, with two interceptions. He has rushed 44 times for 189 yards and seven touchdowns.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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•The Costa Mesa High football team (2-7, 2-2 in league), coming off a 21-14 overtime loss against Saddleback, faces a must-win game Thursday night at Jim Scott Stadium. The Mustangs will face Calvary Chapel, and both teams need a win to secure the third and final CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoff berth out of the Orange Coast League.
Costa Mesa could be without four starters on offense, Coach Wally Grant said Tuesday. Sophomore quarterback Eric Carrasco suffered a concussion on the second-to-last play against Saddleback. And tight end Austin Sheffner, left tackle Frankie Hernandez and center Roberto Olivares all missed the Saddleback game with concussions of their own.
Grant said that all four players are game-time decisions against Calvary Chapel. If Carrasco isn’t cleared in time, Grant said that he could turn to junior varsity quarterback Cody Merrifield, Cameron Curet or Mason Mataafa.
Carrasco started the past two games at quarterback after junior Sammy Swanson tore his ACL in the Battle for the Bell game against Estancia.
“We’re not changing our offense,” Grant said. “On offense, we’re trying to grind out the clock.”
— Matt Szabo
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•The Saddleback game was another strong game for Curet, who made more of an impact on the ground than catching passes as a receiver as the Mustangs didn’t pass as much.
Curet split carries fairly evenly in the first half with senior Darmonta Davis and junior Michael Dias, though he did score on a two-yard touchdown run.
In the second half and overtime, though, Curet had 20 carries for 145 yards. They included a 47-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. He finished with 31 carries for 184 yards.
— Matt Szabo
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•Meyer is two wins away from his 50th at CdM. The number is impressive considering Meyer took over the Sea Kings in 2011. He is 48-5 overall and 18-1 in league while in charge of CdM.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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•Estancia sophomore Dylan Laurent shares time at tailback with his older brother and senior Christian Laurent, rendering the Eagles’ backfield a “Laurent District.” But the dynamic duo clearly add an upscale element to the Estancia running game.
Dylan, whom Bargas said he likes to use more on the perimeter, carried 11 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns Friday, while Christian, who operates more in between the tackles, produced 68 yards and one touchdown on 20 attempts.
Dylan now has 691 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns for the season, while Christian has 657 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“We know [Dylan] has quicks and he can get around the corner,” Bargas said. “Christian is a little more of a north-south-type guy. Dylan just has kind of got that little extra squirt.”
— Barry Faulkner
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•Dylan Laurent added four receptions for 64 yards to his offensive performance Friday, but his contributions extended to defense and special teams, as well.
The starting cornerback picked off three passes, ending Godinez’s final three possessions. He returned one interception 34 yards to set up the Eagles’ final touchdown.
He returned a blocked field-goal attempt 35 yards to set up the Eagles’ first touchdown (which he scored on a 12-yard run). He also returned a punt 27 yards to create field position that led to another touchdown drive on his way to 258 all-purpose yards.
Dylan Laurent’s numbers are even more impressive when one considers that he limped off the field with an ankle injury after being pulled down awkwardly following a pass reception early in the third quarter.
He sat out the next seven plays of the Estancia possession, then missed an 11-play, 80-yard Godinez touchdown drive, before returning on the ensuing kickoff with 3:32 left in the third quarter.
“I just sat out and got taped a little bit, then got back in there,” Dylan Laurent said.
— Barry Faulkner
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•Bargas said senior Brian Southwick, who had started at left tackle on offense and at also at defensive tackle before injuring a knee that sidelined him during the Oct. 17 victory against Costa Mesa, could return for the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs.
“He has a little tear in his ACL, but we are going to get him back, which is great news,” Bargas said.
— Barry Faulkner
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•Newport Harbor ran a makeshift offensive line last week because of injuries, and it still produced 229 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, and 191 yards and two touchdowns through the air.
The line might look more like the one at the beginning of the season, when everyone was healthy. Brinkley hopes center Elliot Frye (broken hand), left tackle Joey Stukonis (fractured ankle) and right guard Mike Jarboe (concussion) can return for the league finale.
With those players out, Newport Harbor moved left tackle Colin Rowe to center, tight end Brett Beaudette to left tackle, and Arthur Guillen lined up at right guard. They protected Cole Norris, who was never sacked by Marina.
Norris finished seven of eight passing for 156 yards and two touchdowns. The stats helped Norris take over the No. 7 spot for career passing touchdowns (69) in Orange County history and the No. 9 spot for career passing yards (6,545) in county history.
For his senior season, Norris, who’s bound for Northern Arizona, has completed 162 of 257 passes for 2,123 yards and 26 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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•The Sailors finally stopped a Sunset League offense.
After allowing 48 points per game in their past five contests against teams from the Sunset League, the Sailors only gave up 15 points to winless Marina.
Marina has dropped 50 straight league games, the worst losing streak in Orange County history.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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•Costa Mesa looked impressive early against Saddleback. The Mustangs’ first drive of the game was certainly of the ground-it-out variety. It went 20 plays for 77 yards, ending on Curet’s two-yard touchdown run.
The drive lasted 10:10. The Mustangs went for it on fourth down three different times on the drive, converting all of them. Davis’ four-yard run converted a fourth-and-three from the Mesa 29-yard line, a 22-yard pass from Carrasco to Curet converted a fourth-and-nine from the Mesa 48, and a one-yard keeper from Carrasco converted a fourth-and-one from the Saddleback 20.
— Matt Szabo
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•The Mustangs are young and junior-dominated, but Friday night’s game was senior night for the Mustangs. Players recognized pregame included Davis, Hadley Figueroa-Bravo, Adam JeyaRajah, Olivares, Jose Ramirez, Daniel Suarez and Sean Tolliver.
— Matt Szabo