Prep football: Third quarter’s a charm

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - If their first seven games are any indication,

spectators might not want to get caught in the halftime line at the snack

bar when Corona del Mar High hosts Laguna Beach Friday in a 7 p.m.

Pacific Coast League football game at Newport Harbor High.

The Sea Kings (4-2-1, 1-1 in league) and Artists (5-2, 0-2) have made

the third quarter their own this season, fueling speculation that whoever

makes the biggest statement after intermission will have the inside track

to victory this week.

CdM, ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division IX, has outscored

foes, 52-32, in the third period.

Laguna Beach, coached by Dave Holland who manned the Sea Kings’ helm

for 20 seasons, has earned a 60-7 edge while the band is typically taking

its break.

The quality of coaching adjustments are one indicator of third-quarter

proficiency, but that may not be an issue between Holland and CdM Coach

Dick Freeman, who are exceedingly familiar with one another, having

worked together and coached against one another for about as many years

as their players have been alive.

Holland, 106-92-10 at CdM in two separate tours, remains the school’s

career victory leader, No. 2 among Newport-Mesa District coaches. He led

the Sea Kings to back-to-back section championships in 1988-89. Freeman spent two stints on Holland’s CdM staff, and also coached against him as

an assistant at Saddleback.

Freeman is 2-0 as a head coach against Holland, who took over at

Laguna in 1996.

Holland, who taught for 30 years at CdM and whose name adorns the

football program’s office, weight room and locker room complex, has the

best team in his tenure at Laguna.

The Artists opened the season 5-0, their best start in nearly two

decades, before dropping league contests to University, 19-7, and Costa

Mesa, 22-14.

“The thing about Dave’s teams is, they are just gritty and they will

hit you,” Freeman said. “They play tough and never let up, no matter

where they are in the league standings.”

The Sea Kings, who fell to Uni, 37-10, last week to end a three-game

winning streak, are attempting to remain in contention for the league

title. More realistically, however, CdM needs to defeat Laguna and Costa

Mesa to claim what figures to be the league’s third guaranteed playoff

berth.

“We’re still in OK position,” Freeman said. “We still think we’re a

good football team and we have a good shot at winning the rest of our

games.”

Though CdM has won seven of the last eight against Laguna, including

victory margins of 27-7 and 28-7 the last two years in the PCL, Freeman

believes his kids have thorough respect for the Artists.

“It was a pretty good game last year and our kids got hit,” Freeman

said. “Anyone who played in that game, knows what Laguna Beach can do.”

Laguna has improved greatly on offense this season, due mostly to the

presence of junior tailback Donelle Darling. Darling has rushed for 961

yards and an Orange County-leading 17 touchdowns on 149 carries. Darling

has scored the Artists’ last 13 TDs.

“They like to get (Darling) outside and around the corner,” Freeman

said. “Our perimeter defense was horrible against Newport Harbor, but we

did a pretty good job of containing (Uni’s Scott Pickett) last week.

Laguna also counts on senior quarterback Todd Merz, who has struggled

somewhat in league. Merz has completed 11 of 26 for 117 yards the last

two weeks, with three interceptions and no TDs. He is 44 for 99 for 637

yards, with two TDs and seven interceptions for the season. Merz is also

a talented kicker, having booted four field goals this year, including a

long of 47 yards.

CdM, which has battled through injuries and defections all season, may

be the healthiest it has been all year.

Junior John Daley will start at offensive guard for the first time

since breaking his wrist in Week 3, and junior Kris Cooper (torn knee

ligament) and senior Adam Dunn (out all season with a broken leg) are the

only key performers expected to miss time Friday.

The Sea Kings’ ground game is keyed by junior tailback Mark

Cianciulli, who set career highs for carries (33) and rushing yards (227)

against Uni. Cianciulli has 118 carries for 777 yards and five TDs.

Senior quarterback Dylan Hendy has thrown for 844 yards and seven TDs,

completing 65 of 127. He has thrown four interceptions, but none in the

last four games.

Senior Steven Ward is the leading CdM receiver, with 21 catches for

252 yards and four TDs.

Mistakes have hurt the Sea Kings, who are minus-two in turnover ratio.

The Laguna Beach defense has surrendered an average of 11.9 points per

game, sixth fewest among county teams.