Mohler highlight reel big hit with Sea Kings

Shaun Mohler FB player of week featureCdM senior linebacker consistently flattens foes, but he also makes impact at quarterback, receiver. Shaun Mohler has left so many opposing ballcarriers prone on the football field this season, it was perhaps inevitable that some would also wind up on the cutting-room floor.

Mohler, like all Corona del Mar High players, is invited to compile his own highlight video. The project, which can be sent to college programs for recruiting purposes, includes three minutes of personally edited clips of outstanding plays, followed by footage of a single game.

The problem in Mohler’s case has been narrowing the initial portion to three minutes.

“I was working on it the other day and I had like 12 minutes [of highlights],” said Mohler, who roams rampant on game nights, in search of his next big hit.

“I love hitting people,” said the 6-foot-3, 200-pound inside linebacker, who leads the Sea Kings with 97 tackles this season.

Hitting them, however, is only the half of it. Mohler is not satisfied unless he knocks opponents flat, ideally caroming off his body in the opposite direction.

“Coach [Dick] Freeman told me I need to lay the wood if I want to get colleges interested in me,” Mohler said.

Mission accomplished, Freeman said.

“He likes it,” Freeman said of Mohler’s penchant for inflicting harm on foes and friends alike. “Some guys hit people, but they get up a little slow and you can almost see them questioning themselves about whether or not they want to do that again. But it’s never a question with Shaun. He’s like a shark at feeding time.”

Feeding time, in Mohler’s case, can extend beyond game nights.

“We have to calm him down at practice,” Freeman said. “He likes to hit our guys, too. Sometimes, we get mad at him and we have to let him know the guys he goes against at practice are guys I’d kind of like to have playing for us on Friday night.”

Though clearly dominant on defense, Mohler also contributes when the Sea Kings have the ball. He has played both quarterback and receiver this season.

As a reserve quarterback, Mohler has become a catalyst in recent weeks. In consecutive victories against University and Garden Grove -- the latter a 28-7 verdict in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IX playoffs Friday -- he has completed 7 of 8 passes for 117 yards and four touchdowns.

He completed all three of his passes against Garden Grove, including touchdown tosses of 42 and 8 yards. The win propelled the Sea Kings (6-5) into Friday’s quarterfinals against No. 2-seeded La Habra (9-2).

“He is finally starting to realize how to put a little touch on the ball,” Freeman said of the strong-armed left-hander.

Mohler said he relishes sparking his team at quarterback, but he is also content to share time under center with fellow senior Colin Wigley.

“I like what I’m doing on offense,” said Mohler, who is also called on to run the ball, either from his receiver spot on end-around plays, or quarterback keepers.

“We run some designated plays when I come in. Plus, [only spot duty on offense] gives me a little more time to rest, so I can play defense.”

Not too long ago, being defensive had become a hindrance to Mohler at CdM, where junior high students share the campus with those in grades 9-12.

“His seventh- and eighth-grade career was very checkered,” Freeman said. “He was one of those guys you didn’t want to say the wrong thing to. There wasn’t a whole lot funny to him.”

Mohler acknowledged he had some misguided aggression in junior high.

“I had a pretty bad attitude,” he said. “I was young and stupid and I had a very short temper. I got in a lot of fights in junior high. It got to the point where if I had one more, I would no longer be allowed to go to CdM.”

Mohler said nearly getting kicked out of school was his much-needed wake-up call.

“I wanted to go to CdM and I wanted to be able to play sports,” he said. “At the rate I was going, I would have probably wound up in jail.”

Instead, Mohler, who has also played basketball and baseball at CdM, has matured into the role of soft-spoken, but respected team leader.

He has received recruiting interest from Western Athletic Conference programs such as Boise State and Fresno State, and also considers playing at a community college a possibility for next season.

“He has grown up a lot,” Freeman said. “There were times early in his varsity career that he would still carry a little chip on his shoulder onto the field. But he has figured out that he needs to be more calm.”

Mohler has also figured out how to deliver dramatic hits, the kind that illicit a different kind of audible response from spectators.

“You have to be a little nutty to sacrifice your body like that,” Mohler said. “But I love to hear the crowd reacting [to a big hit]. I know my buddies in the stands love seeing those and I can usually hear their oohs and ahs.”

SHAUN MOHLER

Born: April 9, 1988

Hometown: Corona del Mar

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 200

Sport: Football

Positions: Linebacker/ quarterback/receiver

Coach: Dick Freeman

Favorite food: Pork chops

Favorite movie: “Friday Night Lights”

Favorite athletic moment: “Winning that last game [a 28-7 triumph over host Garden Grove in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IX playoffs on Friday]. That’s the first playoff game our school has won in 10 years.”

Week in review: In addition to his typically dominant defensive play at inside linebacker, he completed 3 of 3 passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns in a reserve role at quarterback against Garden Grove.

Daily Pilot

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