CdM ready to rumble

Barry Faulkner

If a season can be considered a war of attrition, the Corona del

Mar High football team lost enough battles last fall to prompt

surrender.

But, coming off a calamitous though respectable 5-4-1 campaign

that included numerous injuries, player defections and a late-season

slump that prevented the program from advancing to the CIF Southern

Section Playoffs for the first time in four years, determination and

optimism are abundant in the Sea Kings’ camp as they prepare for

2002.

The biggest reason behind this auspicious aura is a talented and

experienced senior class which, unleashed from the leadership

limitations inherent with nonseniors, just may tug the team’s rope

well into the postseason.

“I get excited about every year, but I’m very excited about this

group,” Coach Dick Freeman, entering his eighth season in charge,

said. “This group (of seniors) is very mature. They have kind of been

the backbone of the program the last two years. They’ve gone through

some lean times, but they’ve stuck with it.”

With 10 returning starters back on defense and five on offense,

including first-team All-Pacific Coast League tailback Mark

Cianciulli, the Class of 2003 could add a PCL crown to the one it

captured as freshmen in 1999.

A reconfigured PCL still includes defending champion Northwood and

perennial playoff participant University. But with first-year varsity

program Tesoro, which will compete without seniors, as well as Laguna

Beach and Calvary Chapel filling out the circuit, the Sea Kings are

virtually assured a top-three finish with a strong shot at their

first outright league championship since 1988.

“We haven’t talked about expectations, but I think our kids expect

to win,” Freeman said. “They do know they have to work hard and play

hard to have success and we can’t have any of the injury problems we

had last year. It won’t take (losing) that many people to kill us.”

The Sea Kings lost few starters to graduation, making experience

one of their biggest strengths.

“We probably have the most guys back of any team in the league,”

said Freeman, whose stable includes first-team All-PCL defensive

lineman Jayson Skalla, as well as second-team all-league performers

Matt Cooper (inside linebacker and fullback) and John Daley

(offensive line).

Yet another strength is just that, as Freeman reports power clean

records fell in every weight class during the offseason.

Increased depth, as well as a handful of impact players, are

expected to come from a stellar sophomore class, while the biggest

question marks remain in the offensive and defensive lines.

“Talent-wise, our sophomore group may be as good or better than

this year’s seniors,” Freeman said. “And our sophomores and juniors

are really pushing the seniors in practice. If someone screws up or

has a bad day, they could be replaced in the lineup. That kind of

competition in practice is only going to make us better.”

Senior Jonathan Hubbard steps in at quarterback and Freeman

believes he’ll add aerial proficiency to a running game that should

sparkle if the offensive front can hold its own.

Cianciulli rushed for 1,290 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior,

including 869 yards in five league games. And with a streak of five

straight 100-yard-plus outputs heading into the Sept. 13 opener

against Costa Mesa, the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder is on his way to

becoming one most productive ball carriers in the program’s 40-year

history. Cianciulli, whose blend of speed, determination and

illusiveness makes him a constant threat to break a big play whenever

he touches the ball, has 1,449 career rushing yards. He is still

1,740 shy of tying school career rushing leader J.R. Walz (3,189

yards from 1991-93), but needs just 576 to move past Brian Lucas

(1988-89) into the No. 2 spot.

The 6-2, 225-pound Cooper will add punch in the backfield, with

Freeman vowing to get him the ball much more than the 43 touches he

had last season (35 rushes and eight receptions). Cooper’s defensive

prowess should also resonate for the Sea Kings, as well as with

college recruiters, who already include interested suitors from

Stanford, Arizona State, Oregon and several Ivy League schools.

Daley, still recovering from a broken leg that hindered his

offseason, is expected to anchor the offensive line at left guard. He

missed about a month last year with a broken wrist, one of the

aforementioned injury woes that allowed several of this year’s

returners to gain valuable experience.

Like Cooper and Skalla, Daley is among the strongest players in

the program.

Ed Blanton, a former Estancia head coach who has worked with the

Sea Kings secondary in recent years, adds offensive coordinator to

his duties this fall. He replaces Lyle Lansdell, who is now helping

out at Aliso Niguel, where his son plays.

Freeman said the offense will simplify somewhat and he believes

his players will respond well to Blanton’s leadership.

“Some coaches can yell at a kid and he’s down the rest of the

year,” Freeman said. “But Blanton yells at guys and they end up

buying him stuff. They just like him.”

Veteran assistants Bernie Terry, a former lieutenant during the

Dave Holland regime, and Damon Bame have been added to the staff to

work with the defensive line. Frough Jahid, a former standout at

Estancia High and Orange Coast College, makes his varsity coaching

debut working with the receivers and secondary.