NMJAAF: Midget Seahawks defeat Corona in playoff opener

The Newport-Mesa Junior All-American Football Midget Seahawks (ages

12-14) opened playoff action with a 44-0 triumph over Corona on Saturday.

A strong performance by the Seahawks’ defense fueled the win. The “D”

was led by Vince Mazurek, Efrain Castro, Zack Wishengrad, Eric Bremmer,

Avery Fenton, Greg Minor, Chris Reilly, Armand, Lapuz, Bob Richie, Matt

Graham, Tim Prairie and Chris Taylor.

Six different players scored touchdowns for Newport-Mesa. Spencer Link

scored on the Seahawks’ first offensive play of the game and had two TDs

on two carries.

Wes Presson was 3 of 4 passing and all three completions went for

touchdowns.

Kyle Woody, Taylor Young and Chris Hernandez each scored first-half

touchdowns, while Grant Casserly returned a punt for a TD.

Austin Brawner closed out the Seahawks’ scoring with a 3-yard TD run

in the third quarter.

The Seahawks will continue playoff action in Roland Heights against

division-rival Fountain Valley Saturday at 3 p.m.

In other NMJAAF action:

Junior Pee-Wee Seahawks 19, La Mirada Matadors 0 - The Seahawks (ages

9-11) advanced to the third round of the playoffs with the convincing win

on Saturday.

The defense, led by Erik Rask, William O’Brien, Isaac Abrego, Garrett

Amoroso, Sean Berkley, Brandon Davis, Travis Prickett, Kevin Dearen, Jed

Flores, Nick Reese, Brice Stillman, Jonathon Tripi, Jamie McGee and

Taylor Sepulveda, put together its fifth shutout in a row.

On offense, Robbie Lusk got the Seahawks on the scoreboard first with

a 5-yard run to the end zone.

Quarterback Carlo Valdes executed a flawless bootleg and scored on a

30-yard touchdown run. Jacob Gildart capped the Seahawks’ scoring with a

10-yard TD run.

Opening the holes for the running backs were offensive linemen Corbin

McNutt, P.J. Simpson, Justin Elbourn, Troy Hall, Michael Jugan, Brian

Lawler, Kevin Morgenstern and Jerry Whitney.

Corona Panthers 28, Jr. Midget Seahawks 24 - After spotting Corona a

20-0 first-half advantage, the Seahawks (ages 11-13) put together a

strong comeback bid, but fell just short.

Quarterback Kasey Peters threw for three second-half touchdown passes

for Patrick Williams and Matt Erickson.

The offensive line was strong and was led by Brent Ogden, Anthony

Santos, Eric Ray, Ricky Sepulveda, Sean Goodman, Brett Vosseller, Pat

Hill and Steven Hancock.

The defense was led by Bijan Ahmadi, Jamie Kline, Trevor Theriot, Ben

Maggard, Ryan Lance James Coder, Ryan Breslin and David Del Fante.

The loss ends the Seahawks’ season, but Theriot, Ogden, Peters and

Shaun Mohler will represent the team at the Southern California All-Star

Game on Dec. 9 at Cal State Fullerton.

For the Junior Clinic Seahawks (ages 7-8), their season came to an end

with a playoff matchup against Huntington Beach.

Nick Taormina ran for a touchdown for the Seahawks on a 100-yard

sweep.

Parker Norton, Mike Taormina and Austin Blodgett also ran the ball

well, while the Seahawks’ offensive line of Chasen Watson, Jake Starnes,

Steve Clapp, Josh Starnes, Trent Anderson, J.D. Abbott, Nick Tripi, D.J.

Hauser and Ryan Hatcher, opened many holes for the running crew.

On defense, Reid Johnson, Brett Klein, Buzzy Yokoyama, Jamie McKernan,

Luke Christiano, Parker Lanting and Chasen McNaughton each made numerous

tackles.