CdM duels Holland-led Breakers

Barry Faulkner

Dave Holland coached the Corona del Mar High football team to 106

victories and two CIF Southern Section championships in 20 seasons at

the helm. But it has been nearly nine years since he stepped down at

CdM and his three previous experiences coaching a team on the

opposing sideline have brought losses by a combined 60 points.

Things figure to be a little more interesting when Holland’s

Laguna Beach Breakers host his former school Friday at 7 p.m. in a

Pacific Coast League game with plenty at stake.

CdM (3-3, 1-0 in league) opened PCL play with an emotional

come-from-behind victory over University last week, while Laguna

(4-2, 0-1) was stunned by Calvary Chapel, 41-40, in its league opener

Saturday.

The Breakers started 5-0 last season, only to finish 1-4 in league

and miss the CIF playoffs for the 14th straight season. This year’s

promising start included a 14-7 win over Costa Mesa, but either

Calvary Chapel (3-3) is much better than expected, or the Breakers

are in for a similar free fall in 2002.

CdM, meanwhile halted a three-game losing skid last week and Coach

Dick Freeman believes his team will suffer no letdown after the

crucial triumph over the Trojans.

“(A letdown) is not something we’ve done all year, so it’s not

something I’m worried about,” Freeman said.

The Sea Kings, however, did play poorly in a 14-12 loss to an unheralded Cypress squad, one week after dropping a hard-fought 17-0

decision against arch-rival Newport Harbor, a loss one player later

termed devastating.

Mistakes have helped the Sea Kings underachieve this season, while

Holland-coached teams have made a habit of cashing in other team’s

miscues. The Sea Kings are minus-six in turnover ratio this fall,

while Laguna is plus-eight.

In addition to taking care of the ball, the Sea Kings must take

care to contain a balanced Breaker offense averaging 29 points per

game.

Senior tailback Donnelle Darling has rushed for 915 yards and 14

touchdowns on 137 carries and with 2,098 yards the last two seasons,

the 5-9, 170-pounder is closing in on the school’s career rushing

record of 2,427 yards, held by Jonathan Todd.

Junior quarterback Alex Wilson, however, has also moved the team

effectively through the air. He has completed 75 of 137 for 1,189

yards and 10 TDs, with only three interceptions.

Senior Ed Hanke has been a big-play receiver, producing 419 yards

and seven TDs on his team-leading 18 receptions. Hanke has averaged

just better than 42 yards on his scoring grabs, including end zone

excursions of 75, 73 and 48 yards.

Junior Bryce Loidolt has also been a frequent Wilson target,

hauling in 14 passes for 351 yards.

CdM has done most of its damage offensively on the ground, with

senior tailback Mark Cianciulli shouldering most of the load.

Cianciulli has amassed 673 yards and six TDs on 146 carries and his

137-yard effort against Uni put him over the 2,000-yard plateau for

his career, only the fourth player to do so in the program’s now

41-season history. Cianciulli, now with 2,122 career rushing yards,

moved past Brian Lucas (2,024) into the No. 3 spot on the CdM career

list and the former Laguna Beach resident, who grew up playing with

many of this week’s opponents, needs just 107 yards to move past Tom

O’Meara into the No. 2 spot. J.R. Walz sits at No. 1 with 3,189

yards.

Cianciulli, however, sprained an ankle Tuesday in practice, so his

status may be in doubt. If he can’t go, sophomore Wess Presson or

senior Keith Long will become the primary ball carrier. Presson

rushed for 86 yards and two TDs on 10 carries in mop-up duty two

weeks ago. Long, who has missed all but a few minutes of the last

three games with a sprained back, has 91 yards on 16 carries this

fall.

Senior fullback Matt Cooper, slowed by an ankle injury sustained

against Newport, rolled the same ankle in practice Monday, putting

his availability in question.

CdM quarterback Jonathan Hubbard has thrown for 432 yards and four

TDs, completing 37 of 69 with three interceptions. The senior

first-year starter had his most efficient passing game last week,

connecting on all five attempts for 82 yards, including a 42-yard

bomb to Kevin Welch to set up the game-winning TD.

Welch, a sophomore, is the leading receiver with 15 catches for

213 yards, while Cianciulli has eight receptions for 81 yards.

CdM has won eight of the last nine meetings with Laguna and leads

the series, 8-4.