CdM’s best not quite enough

Barry Faulkner

Corona del Mar High football coach Dick Freeman believes his team

saved its best for last. But, unfortunately for the Sea Kings, so did

Pacifica kicker Curtis Gladden.

Gladden booted the game-winning 40-yard field goal with 18 seconds

left, his ninth three-pointer of the season, to eliminate CdM, 24-23,

in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IX Playoffs

Friday night at Bolsa Grande High.

“It was the best game we’ve played,” Freeman said Sunday, after

some of the shock had worn off and most of the finality of the

season-ending loss had sunk in. “We were thinking going through that

game, even deep into the third quarter, that we had things clicking.

The offense was moving the ball and putting things together and I

thought our defense did a pretty good job limiting their running

game.”

But, Freeman said Pacifica’s ability to convert third-down and

fourth-down situations, mostly with the passing of junior quarterback

Justin Turner, proved too much for the Sea Kings (6-5) to overcome.

“We were in position to defend most of their passes, but they

completed them anyway,” Freeman said. “Their guy threw the ball well

and they made some great catches.”

CdM’s inability to seal the victory early was also hurt by losing

two fumbles deep in Pacifica territory, one at the 12 and the other at the 20.

“The first four times we had the ball, we were deep in their

territory, but only came away with 10 points,” Freeman said.

Freeman said losing in such dramatic fashion multiplied the

disappointment.

“It was a disaster,” he said of the aftermath of Gladden’s winning

kick. “We were feeling pretty good, because we had played pretty

well, then there was a huge emotional drop. It was almost shocking.

It really didn’t sink in for awhile that we had lost the game. The

seniors were just devastated. We’ve had some teams that have accepted

losing in the playoffs, but this team wasn’t like that. I think they

were sitting around Saturday waiting for a phone call that Pacifica

had some kind of ineligible player, or something. “

Freeman said he hopes his players can take consolation in the

strong season they turned in, as well as their quality performance

against the Mariners (9-2).

“Hopefully, each one of them can personally feel good about the

way they played,” Freeman said. “It may not be written anywhere that

the 2002 team really went out fighting, but we played a very good

football game against a very good football team that went right down

to the end. That kid made a heck of a kick. He probably could have

kicked it from midfield. Any other team, they don’t kick one that

long and we win the thing.”

Among the seniors who closed out their CdM careers were brothers

Matt and Kris Cooper, both of whom should get an opportunity to play

collegiately, Freeman said. Freeman believes senior tailback Mark

Cianciulli could also continue in college, while senior K.C. Rawlins

will pursue a kicking career at a four-year school.

With 134 yards on 17 carries against Pacifica, Cianciulli finished

with 1,252 yards and 13 touchdowns on 221 carries this season. His

2,601 career rushing yards (on 440 attempts), as well as his 27 TDs,

also rank second in school annals, behind J.R. Walz, who amassed

3,189 yards and 29 TDs from 1991-93.