Sea Kings surf past Breakers

Richard Dunn

Primarily a running team with senior tailback Mark Cianciulli,

Corona del Mar High believed it was necessary to tinker with the

offensive blueprint against host Laguna Beach Friday night.

On the first play from scrimmage, CdM senior quarterback Jonathan

Hubbard connected with sophomore wide receiver Kevin Welch, who

slipped undetected behind the defense, on a 70-yard bomb for the

first strike as the Sea Kings scored two touchdowns in the opening 43

seconds and four touchdowns in the first quarter, before defeating

the Breakers during their homecoming, 33-16, in Pacific Coast League

action.

The Sea Kings (4-3, 2-0 in the PCL), ranked No. 6 in CIF Southern

Section Division IX, built a 26-0 lead before first quarter’s end,

then entertained a degree of suspense in the second half as Laguna

Beach (4-3, 0-2) came back.

“The way things were looking, it’s a good thing we did (score four

touchdowns in the first quarter),” CdM Coach Dick Freeman said.

“After those first three touchdowns, we played pretty even. It would

have been nice to see some killer instinct, but we didn’t come out

very aggressive in the second half.”

After Welch surprised the Laguna Beach defense with a deep pass

and subsequent run to paydirt, Laguna Beach tried a flea-flicker on

its first play from scrimmage and the pass fell incomplete. On the

Breakers’ second play, they fumbled after a completed pass and CdM’s

Mordy Ornguze scooped up the loose ball, before sprinting 20 yards

for a touchdown with 11:17 on the clock.

After CdM’s defense stopped the Breakers in their second series,

keyed by junior defensive end Brian Dunn’s quarterback sack for

minus-4 yards, the Sea Kings’ offense was on the move again, after

great field position at the Laguna Beach 38. This time, Cianciulli

carried six straight times, including gains of 14 and 12 yards, before reaching the end zone on a 3-yard run. David Del Fante added

the PAT and the Sea Kings enjoyed a 19-9 edge with 6:06 left in the

first quarter.

“We jumped on them early, and that was good because it took (the

Breakers) out of their running game (with senior running back Donelle

Darling),” Freeman said. “It’s tough when you’re down 13-0. We could

just sit back and run the football.”

After Hubbard’s bomb to Welch, the Sea Kings attempted only two

more passes in the first half, as Cianciulli carried most of the

offensive weight behind the CdM line.

By halftime, Cianciulli had 129 rushing yards and three

touchdowns, finishing with 174 yards on 30 carries to move into

second place on the Sea Kings’ career rushing list with 2,296 yards.

Cianciulli passed Tom O’Meara in the first half. J. R. Walz (3,189

yards) is the school’s all-time leader.

Late in the first quarter, CdM started a series from its own 34

and moved the chains behind Cianciulli, who capped a six-play drive

with a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:15 remaining in the opening

quarter. The score was set up by Cianciulli’s 41-yard run to the

Laguna Beach 7, in which a cutback at the 30 proved vital, before the

Breakers could wrap him up.

Laguna Beach got on the scoreboard in the second quarter as it

drove from its own 49 and used a lot of the clock (4:47), before

Darling crowned the series with a 1-yard touchdown burst.

Leading 26-7, Corona del Mar wasn’t finished on offense. The Sea

Kings, starting from their own 33, used 10 plays in 5:25 to score

again, this time on a 5-yard run by Cianciulli. Earlier in the drive,

Hubbard picked up 23 yards on a naked bootleg to the Breakers’ 25,

before Cianciulli carried the ball on the final five snaps.

Laguna Beach, coached by former CdM Coach Dave Holland, scored on

its opening drive of the second half with Darling’s 12-yard touchdown

run the clincher with 8:12 left in the third quarter.

After CdM was shut down on its first series, a high punt snap from

the CdM 24 landed in the end zone, where CdM punter Welch recovered

to give Laguna Beach a safety. It cut CdM’s lead to 33-16 with 5:59

left in the third and would prove to be the game’s final score.