Kevin Welch

Patrick Laverty

Corona del Mar High junior receiver Kevin Welch and his twin brother

Tom called former Sea Kings quarterback Jonathan Hubbard late Friday

night to let him know the news.

Welch had brought Tom into the Corona del Mar record books at the

expense of Hubbard.

With Tom at quarterback, the twin brothers, born five minutes

apart, connected on a 92-yard touchdown pass Friday against Tesoro.

It was the longest pass play in Corona del Mar history, eclipsing the

87-yard pass that Kevin caught from Hubbard last season.

“It’s a cool deal to have Tom and I in there together,” Kevin

said.

Kevin finished the game with five catches for 164 yards and two

touchdowns and added seven tackles, nine assists and an interception

while playing free safety for the first time in his career. Add in

Welch’s punting duties, which included one out of his own end zone as

time expired in regulation and you have the Daily Pilot Player of the

Week.

A three-sport athlete at CdM, Welch also plays basketball and

volleyball. It’s attributes in both those sports, like jumping and

timing, that help make Welch a standout wide receiver.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder, who is the younger of the twins, has

shown a knack for stealing balls from defenders, particularly when

going up in the air on fade routes.

“I think its the connection Tom and I have. I just run straight

down the field and most of the time he throws it where I’m going to

be, which is what he’s supposed to do,” Welch said. “I just go up and

get the ball. Wherever it’s thrown, I’m going to try to catch it.”

The record-setting touchdown pass came on third down from the Sea

Kings’ 8-yard line. Kevin ran a quick slant route, tipped the ball

forward, then caught it about 10 yards downfield.

“It came awfully quick,” Welch said. “Tom threw it really, really

hard.”

Kevin then took a step to the outside to avoid the safety and

raced 80 yards to the end zone.

“Running down the field I thought they were going to catch me,”

Welch said. “But when I watched the film, they weren’t even close.”

Welch’s role in the game increased when he stepped into Corona del

Mar’s secondary. He began the season as a starting cornerback, but

had been limited by a groin injury in recent weeks. Because of an

injury to Shane Collins, Welch stepped into the free safety position

against Tesoro for the first time since his freshman season.

“He can play anything we put him at,” Corona del Mar Coach Dick

Freeman said.

Welch’s vision -- which he credited to playing volleyball and

being forced to see the whole court -- helped on his interception. He

read the quarterback’s eyes before sprinting upfield to pick off a

crossing route.

His vision for his future includes continuing athletics in

college, but there is some question as to whether that will be

volleyball or football.

Welch has received interest from schools such as Pepperdine,

Hawaii, UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara for volleyball, but has

also received letters from UCLA for football. He plans to actively

market himself to college football coaches when the current season

ends.

“I know it’s going to be volleyball or football, though I’m

leaning more toward football,” Welch said. “I really want to go and

play a sport in college. I think the kind of competition in football

at a big school is just incredible. I think maybe I’d have a better

chance at volleyball.”

Freeman thinks he may have a shot at football.

“He’s not a 4.2 [40-yard dash] guy, but he has that catching

ability and he can play at 200 [pounds] and be a possession-type

receiver,” Freeman said.

Even if possession receivers don’t often set records for long

receptions.