Sea Kings mow down Tesoro

Barry Faulkner

The Corona del Mar High football team built at least some

offensive momentum while clinching sole possession of second place in

the Pacific Coast League with a 48-28 win over visiting Tesoro Friday

at Newport Harbor High.

But the Sea Kings (6-4, 4-1 in league) may have built a future

enemy in the Titans (1-9, 0-5) and Coach Jim O’Connell, whose team

scored 34% of its points for the season in its most effective

offensive performance of the season.

Offensive efficiency, however, was best exemplified by the hosts,

who used just 34 offensive plays (not counting punts) to roll up

their second-highest point total of the season. After trouncing

Calvary Chapel, 50-8, in a Nov. 2 league game, CdM took a step

backward last week, falling to league champion Northwood, 21-0,

committing six turnovers.

But Friday, the Sea Kings had just one turnover, cashed in both

Tesoro turnovers for touchdowns, had a pair of one-play touchdown

“drives,” two others of two plays and others of five, six and seven

plays.

CdM’s offensive explosiveness helped overcome a listless start

against a determined Titan outfit.

“We came out flat, which was to be expected,” CdM Coach Dick

Freeman said. “We needed to get going and, eventually, we started

moving the ball. I was happy we got some things going.”

CdM senior tailback Mark Cianciulli got it going late in the first

quarter, after a 13-play Tesoro drive ended on a bad snap on what

would have been a 26-yard field-goal attempt.

On the next snap, Cianciulli darted 67 yards off left tackle for a

touchdown. David Del Fante added the first of his six conversion

kicks to give the hosts a 7-0 lead with 2:36 left in the opening

period.

Tesoro, which came in tied with Estancia for the fewest points in

Orange County this season (54), pulled even with a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive capped by quarterback Nick Nelson’s 1-yard sneak.

CdM fumbled the ball away three plays into the ensuing possession,

but the Sea Kings’ defense forced a punt and the Sea Kings turned

their next six possessions into touchdowns.

Cianciulli had four TDs, en route to 207 rushing yards on just 13

carries (nearly a 16-yard average).

Senior tailback Keith Long added a 1-yard TD run and sophomore Tom

Welch bounced 25 yards around the right side for another rushing TD

to help the CdM ground game produce 327 yards.

Senior quarterback Jonathan Hubbard and sophomore receiver Kevin

Welch made the most of their limited passing opportunities. Welch

caught two Hubbard bombs for 98 yards, the first a 34-yard post

pattern that made it 14-7 with 8:29 left before halftime and the

second a 64-yard sideline streak on the opening play of the second

half. The latter connection set up a 4-yard Cianciulli TD run and

irked O’Connell and his staff, who deemed the long pass unnecessary

for a team up, 28-7, against a team with no seniors and very few

contributing juniors.

“I just don’t sense a lot of class over there,” O’Connell, still

visibly upset, said after the game.

“Their coach refused to shake my hand,” Freeman said.

O’Connell’s dismay appeared to fire up his players, who pounded

the CdM reserves for 21 fourth-quarter points, including a 12-yard

scoring pass from Nelson to Chase Jacobs with 13 seconds left.

“It’s been a long season, but we’ve known this one was going to be

about the process of building a program,” O’Connell said. “We wanted

our kids to come off the field after their last game with a positive

feeling and I thought we did that. This was, by far, our best

offensive game.”

CdM outside linebacker Kris Cooper returned an interception 33

yards to set up a late first-half score, after forcing a fumble that

teammate K.C. Rawlins recovered to set up another TD.

Tesoro sophomore Evan Handa had 147 rushing yards and two TDs, and

Nelson finished with 216 passing yards to help the Titans post 384

yards total offense. Nelson completed 21 of 35 to nine different

receivers.

The Sea Kings will learn Sunday whether they get a home game for

the first round of the playoffs. Costa Mesa has a home game and if

Newport Harbor is also at home, both hold priority over CdM to play

at Orange Coast College and Newport Harbor.