CdM prevails, 28-6, for freshman football title

Joseph Boo

CORONA DEL MAR - With no postseason for either Corona del Mar High

or Costa Mesa’s freshman football team, the meeting between the two was

as close as it gets.

Both teams brought undefeated league records into the last game, and the

winner could claim to be the Pacific Coast League champion. And host CdM

put a big stick into that claim, winning 28-6, to claim the crown.

“We put on our chalkboard, ‘CIF championship, play together today, walk

together forever,” CdM Coach Gary Almquist said.

CdM (8-1-1) came out strong on defense, forcing two fumbles on Costa

Mesa’s first drive and recovering the second one. Seven plays later, Mark

Cianciulli punched it in from 5 yards out for the game’s first score.

Four plays into the second quarter, the Sea Kings got another touchdown

off the hook-and-ladder play, with Keith Long scoring from 22 yards out.

Costa Mesa’s offense finally got going in the second quarter, going from

its own 18-yard line to CdM’s 14. The backfield duo of Kaeola Aswega and

Jason Hurley alternated every other carries. But the drive stalled when

Mark Cooper knocked down a pass on fourth down.

The Mustangs, 7-3, finally got on the board at the end of the third

quarter when Aswega broke free from several tackles for a 57-yard

touchdown run. The run was capped off with a nifty move at the end that

had two CdM defenders grasping air. The ensuing two-point attempt failed.

CdM answered right back with a time-consuming drive. CdM backup

quarterback Bert Welch went 4-for-5 in passing on that drive. Long then

ran the ball in from the 3-yard line to push the lead back to

double-digits.

After stopping two Mustangs’ runs, CdM’s defense faced a fourth-and-10 on

the Mustangs’ 31. Jon Hubbard then intercepted a screen pass and returned

it for a 31-yard touchdown to squelch any hope of a Costa Mesa rally.

“The thing we told our team is we’re proud of our effort,” Costa Mesa

Co-Coach Kirk Bauermeister said. “We just didn’t hold onto the football.

Three turnovers kept Costa Mesa from picking up momentum. CdM’s defense

gave, allowing Aswega to rush for 135 yards and Hurley 39, but it didn’t

give as it got the big plays when needed.

As expected, this was a fierce, hard-hitting game. Hurley especially had

some hard hits on defense for the Mustangs, and Andrew Carich dominated

on both sides of the line for Costa Mesa.

“(Hurley) and Andrew are our most outstanding football players,” Costa

Mesa Co-Coach John Carney said.

CdM also had its fair share of defensive standouts from a swarming

defense that continually stuffed Costa Mesa when it had to.

“We had a lot of big plays on our team,” Almquist said. “Cianciulli had a

big game, and Jason Skalla came up huge for us.”