No red flag for Sea Kings

Patrick Laverty

Corona del Mar High football coach Dick Freeman likely saw yellow

flags being thrown in his sleep last night.

The Sea Kings were flagged and flagged again Thursday in their

Pacific Coast League opener. Illegal receiver downfield, pass

interference and holding, lots of holding, were all called on Corona

del Mar. In all, the Sea Kings piled up 22 penalties for 217 yards.

“Did we out-gain that?” Freeman said after the game.

They certainly did.

Corona del Mar overcame all the hankies with 486 yards of offense

and cruised to a 36-21 victory over Laguna Beach at Orange Coast

College in a game that was nowhere near as close as the score would

indicate.

The victory was a big boost for Corona del Mar (4-2, 1-0 in

league), coming off its worst loss since 1997, a 45-0 drubbing at the

hands of La Habra last week. Laguna Beach dropped to 3-3, 0-1.

“It’s good for our team,” Sea Kings quarterback Tom Welch said.

“It’s a big confidence builder.”

Welch was primarily responsible for much of that confidence. His

impact going into the game was unknown because of a left shoulder

strain he suffered in the previous game. Shaun Mohler started at

quarterback, but Welch came on after Zach Wishengrad recovered a

fumble and returned it to the Breakers’ 1-yard line with 5:13 to play

in the first quarter.

A pair of penalties, beginning a constant theme in the game,

pushed the Sea Kings back to the 28-yard line, but Welch completed

his first two passes -- an 11-yarder to Wishengrad and a 10-yarder to

Dennis Holland -- and Austin Brawner then ran it in from 7 yards for

a 7-0 Sea Kings lead.

Welch remained perfect on the ensuing drive and turned a broken

play into a 79-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lance after Welch avoided

two defenders in the backfield, scrambled to his right and found

Lance wide open downfield.

Playing without his twin brother and top target, Kevin, who was

out with a groin injury, Welch completed his first six passes and

finished 7 of 9 for 208 yards.

“[Kevin will] be all right,” Welch said. “I think we were just

trying to get him a little rest tonight. It was kind of good to get

some other receivers the ball. It really opened up the passing game.”

Shane Collins, a junior, led Sea Kings receivers with three

catches for 102 yards. His final catch came after possibly the most

astonishing sequence of plays of the season.

After building a 29-7 halftime lead, despite 10 penalties for 104

yards, Corona del Mar took possession for the first time in the

second half with 9:33 remaining in the third quarter.

After a 12-yard run by Brett Crowley, who led Corona del Mar’s

rushing attack with 141 yards on 18 carries, pushed the ball across

midfield, the Sea Kings were flagged for delay of game.

Two plays later, holding was called. On the following play, the

ball was moved back again because of an illegal receiver downfield.

The next play: offsides on the Sea Kings. On the ensuing snap,

another illegal receiver downfield penalty, moved the ball back once

again.

It left Corona del Mar facing a third-and-44 from its own 23-yard

line.

“That was incredible,” Freeman said. “We couldn’t have even punted

for a first down. We figured we’d just throw it up there. If it was

intercepted, it was just as good as a punt.”

Collins streaked down the right sideline and Welch hit him in

stride for a 63-yard gain and a first down. Two plays later, Crowley

scored on a 7-yard run, giving the Sea Kings a 36-7 advantage. More

importantly, the flag-filled drive took five minutes, three seconds

off the clock.

Laguna Beach was able to add two late, fourth-quarter touchdowns.

But the Breakers weren’t able to do much prior to that, despite a

splendid effort from quarterback Alex Wilson. The senior completed 23

of 34 for 236 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter with a knee

injury. His only touchdown though, came on a Hail Mary with no time

remaining in the second quarter, which Jake Wheeler came down with

despite triple coverage by the Sea Kings.

Turnovers had a lot to do with Laguna’s inability to score. In

addition to Wishengrad’s fumble recovery, Matt Burgner and John

Shanahan also recovered loose balls. Wess Presson and David Del Fante

added interceptions.

Losing Wilson was a blow to the Breakers, but Corona del Mar is

all too familiar with injuries. The Sea Kings limped into the game,

but came out of it with encouraging news.

John Fairbanks, Andrew Keligian and Sean Ellis, all of whom had

missed last week’s game, received significant playing time.

“I think just getting over the injuries was a really good thing,”

Freeman said. “We got some guys out there and were able to see what

they could do.”