CdM digs early hole, loses to Laguna Hills

MISSION VIEJO — Corona del Mar High football coach Dick Freeman would have liked to have had one more possession. He would have surely appreciated the services of three defensive starters, one of which was a two-way standout, who missed all or most of the second half after being sidelined by injuries.

And the nine points his team virtually gave away to Pacific Coast League host Laguna Hills Friday night at Mission Viejo High might still appear on his Christmas list.

But, perhaps, the thing Freeman and the Sea Kings needed most after a 26-20 loss to the Hawks, was a Mulligan.

“We did just about everything wrong you could do,” Freeman said after his team rallied late, but came up short in what may turn out to be the battle for league supremacy.

“There’s a reason why they came in 5-2 and we came in 4-1,” Laguna Hills Coach Bruce Ingalls said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

The Sea Kings, however, did their best to put the Hawks (5-1, 1-0 in league), ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, into an early comfort zone.

The Sea Kings’ second possession ended in a safety, when a punt snap sailed over the head of the punter and into the end zone. The punter reached down and batted the bouncing ball over the end line for two points with 2:55 left in the first quarter.

Laguna Hills drove 61 yards on seven plays with the ensuing free kick to go up, 9-0. The key play on the drive was a 36-yard fake punt run by Chris Giovinazzo to the Sea Kings’ 21-yard line.

After CdM drove 60 yards on nine plays for its first touchdown with 3:42 left in the first half, the Sea Kings got the ball back, only to fumble it away on their own three-yard line.

Laguna Hills cashed in the fumble with a three-yard scoring pass from Ryan Wertenberger to Peter Antone and it was 16-6 at halftime.

Laguna Hills dominated the third quarter, capping a 12-play drive with a 31-yard Steen Sargent field goal.

After the two teams exchanged turnovers, Laguna Hills got the second of its three interceptions and drove 70 yards on six plays to make it 26-6, just five seconds into the final quarter.

CdM, playing without junior star tailback and inside linebacker Erik Rask, who injured his right knee midway through the second quarter, punted on its next possession.

But sophomore cornerback Noah Molnar (filling in for injured starter Mitch Sands, who aggravated a leg problem) intercepted to set up the visitors at the Laguna Hills 34.

Quarterback Taylor Hughes hit Steven Hillgren on a 34-yard post pattern for a touchdown on the next snap and Charlie Albright added the conversion kick to pull within 26-13.

After a Laguna Hills three-and-out, Hughes completed passes on the first six plays of an eight-play, 65-yard drive that tailback Tom Folks capped with a 1-yard plunge with 3:10 remaining.

The CdM defense forced another three-and-out and the Sea Kings took over at its own 35 with 1:58 left.

But on fourth-and-four, a pass skipped off a receiver’s hands and was intercepted by Antone.

One Hawks first down sealed the deal and dropped the Sea Kings, who had won four straight and were ranked No. 2 in the Southern Division, to 5-3, 1-1.

Hughes completed 19 of 34 for 211 yards and two touchdowns.

Seven of his incompletions were either dropped by a receiver, or hit a receiver’s hands, only to be broken up or fall incomplete.

“Hughes is a guy who makes plays,” Ingalls said. “Any time he throws the ball, he’s a weapon. We were fortunate enough to break up a few passes on that last [Corona del Mar] drive. We needed a stop and we got one.”

Five CdM receivers had at least three receptions, which helped make up for just 25 rushing yards on 25 attempts against a stout Laguna Hills front eight.

Offensively, the Hawks pounded the ball on the ground, led by Giovinazzo’s 135 yards on 18 carries. Matt Giovinazzo added 65 yards on 11 rushing attempts, as the Hawks produced 12 of their 14 first downs on the ground.

But while Wertenberger was just four for 15, he had a pair of TD tosses to help Laguna Hills prevail.

Linebacker Kevin Rask was the other injured starter for Corona del Mar, which earned praise from Freeman for not giving up.

“We made a game of it in the second half,” Freeman said. “But you can’t give away a safety and fumble the ball at your own three-yard line and expect to beat a good team like Laguna Hills.”

The Sea Kings must now hope to win their final two league games — Friday against Irvine at Orange Coast College, and Nov. 2 against University at Irvine High, then hope for a Laguna Hills loss to have a shot at at least a share of the league crown.

“I still feel like we have our best football still in us,” Freeman said.

Freeman said Erik Rask’s knee injury was at least a sprain. Details will follow in the next few days.