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.
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