Mark Cianciulli

Barry Faulkner

Just as the prodigy is revealed before a piano keyboard and the

math whiz corrects the teacher, genius can also be found on the high

school football field.

Some may scoff at the analogy and dismiss the notion that athletic

effort can be so distinctively superior to one’s peers. But even the

most ardent skeptic might appreciate the artistry created by Corona

del Mar senior tailback Mark Cianciulli.

A subtle stutter-step, a hesitation to set up a block,

acceleration away from tacklers, precision cuts into open territory,

the patience to let holes develop and the strength to run through

tacklers when they don’t. These are the qualities attributed to the

rarest of running backs. They are also descriptions that could be

applied to some of the work turned in by the 5-foot-10, 175-pound

senior in the Sea Kings’ 35-15 nonleague victory Friday over Costa

Mesa.

Cianciulli, an All-Pacific Coast League and All-Newport-Mesa

performer a year ago, carried 26 times for 172 yards against the

Mustangs, including a 74-yard sprint for a touchdown and another

scoring run of 2 yards. The Daily Pilot Player of the Week also

caught two passes, the latter a screen he turned into a 57-yard TD.

Including a kickoff return, he finished with 241 all-purpose yards

and a joyous postgame visit on the field with his grandparents, who

had just witnessed Cianciulli play in person for the first time in

his prep career.

“They had the biggest smiles on their faces,” Cianciulli said of

his grandparents, whose son, Hugo, Mark’s father, died of a heart

attack at age 50 not quite a year ago, on the same day a

grief-stricken Cianciulli later rushed for 206 yards and three TDs in

a victory over Laguna Beach.

“I was so nervous before (Friday’s game), because I wanted to do

well for my grandparents,” Cianciulli said. “When I saw them at my

house the afternoon before the game, I guess I had this blank stare

on my face. My grandpa told me not to be nervous. He told me to just

play my game and not think about them. I tried not to think about

them when I was playing, but I definitely thought about them when I

scored.”

Thoughts of his dad, a huge football fan who, no doubt, relished

his son’s gifts, are always with Cianciulli whenever he takes the

field.

“It may sound strange, but I can hear him talking to me when I’m

out there,” Cianciulli said. “When I feel like I need help, I can

call on him. It means a lot to me to perform well for him.”

Cianciulli paid tribute to his dad after racing 74 yards through

the middle of the line to put the Sea Kings up, 21-7, late in the second quarter. Immediately after crossing the goal line, he shot up

his right arm, directing his index finger to the sky, then pumping

his arm and turning to celebrate with his teammates. Cianciulli

acknowledged the gesture was directed toward his father.

“I was mad I didn’t do it the first time I scored (capping a

75-yard drive with the final 2 of his 61 rushing yards on the

nine-play march that followed the opening kickoff). Then, when I

scored my third touchdown, I couldn’t do it, because I had started

cramping up 20 yards before I got to the end zone.”

The physical toll his position takes is one reason Cianciulli

figures to play very little defense this season, after starting at

cornerback as a junior. In addition, Sea Kings Coach Dick Freeman

plans for Cianciulli to share time at tailback, in order to help keep

him fresh for the long haul.

Toward that end, Cianciulli dedicated himself in the weight room

all offseason, including lifting heavily while sprinting for the

track and field team last spring.

“I wanted to get stronger and faster than I was last year,”

Cianciulli said. “I wanted to gain weight, too, but that didn’t work

out too well.”

Though only six pounds heavier than last season, Cianciulli, who

runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds, said he has noticed an overall

increase in strength.

“I did feel stronger Friday, but I also felt like it had been a

year since I’d played a football game. It took me a while to develop

a rhythm.”

Evidence would indicate otherwise as Cianciulli loped 32 yards

around the right side on the season’s first play, then reeled off 15

more on a counter the very next snap.

Still, Cianciulli said his coaches pointed out a propensity for

dancing and asked him to run harder. It is a criticism he took

quickly to heart.

“Watching that first (32-yard run) on film, I could tell I wasn’t

comfortable,” Cianciulli said. “I could see that if I kept going up

the sideline, instead of cutting back, I could have got more yards. I

try to learn from those things and, later in the game, I went up the

sideline on the screen pass and I scored.”

He also broke three tackles and made at least one other defender

miss on the screen pass, for which he later credited his lineman and

his fullback, Matt Cooper, for springing him with effective blocks.

Cianciulli’s efforts upped his career rushing yardage to 1,624,

which puts him in immediate striking range of former CdM standouts

Brian Hogan (1,807 yards), Brian Lucas (2,024) and Tom O’Meara

(2,228). And, after having gained 869 yards in five league games last

fall, such consistent explosiveness could allow Cianciulli to

approach CdM career rushing leader J.R. Walz, who amassed 3,189 yards

from 1991-93.

“I have thought about that stuff, but I try not to think about it

during the season,” Cianciulli said. “My main goals for this year are

just to try to get better every week and contribute as best I can to

our team.”

Freeman acknowledges Sea Kings fans are witnessing a special

talent in Cianciulli.

“We’ve had some pretty good running backs come through here and

Mark has as much ability as any of them,” Freeman said. “He also does

a lot with that ability. He has good moves and good vision and he is

a lot stronger this year.

“It’s not like he hangs around after practice and works on his

moves, but, in a game situation, he’s able to make things happen.”

Cianciulli said he would like to make things happen at the

collegiate level and has already received interest from Division I-AA

schools including Penn, Yale and the University of San Diego.