Molnar to the rescue

NEWPORT BEACH — Four interceptions from junior outside linebacker Noah Molnar helped the Corona del Mar High football team overcome a litany of penalty flags Friday for a 22-14 win over South El Monte (0-4).

The Sea Kings (2-3), who were looking to stop a three-game losing streak, got a slow start, but came back with extra momentum after scoring near the end of the second quarter to make it a 14-8 ballgame at Newport Harbor Friday night.

After accruing a 14-point deficit, the Sea Kings struck when a botched snap sent the ball over punter Rene Flores’ head. Flores tried to get a short kick off, and Max Haase recovered the punt to give the Sea Kings a first down at the Eagles’ 22-yard line.

It took tailback JD Abbott just two carries for the score.

“That made us feel really confident that we could keep doing that the rest of the game,” Molnar said. “At halftime, the coaches got us really pumped up and we just came out firing.”

It was important for the Sea Kings to pick up a win and stop a downward slide before Pacific Coast League play starts Oct. 11 against Beckman.

“This was definitely the turning point of our season,” Molnar said. “We knew we lost three in a row and this was either make-or-break, so we knew we had to come out with a win.”

Corona del Mar Coach Dick Freeman was worried about the threat Jose Garay would pose with his legs, and true to form, Garay racked up 67 yards on eight carries.

But it was the other quarterback wearing No. 11, who helped bring about the turning point in the game. Hunter Alder ran 16 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown that put the Sea Kings on top, 15-14.

“I think the way we played was more important than anything,” Freeman said. “We stayed in it. We worked hard, and we overcame a lot of stuff, and I think that’s good for these guys. A lot of things happened to them, and we just hung in and did fine. Every time we’d do something good, something bad would happen. It was just amazing. We’d get a turnover, we’d turn it back over. We’d get a good run, we’d have a penalty. We’d do something, we’d stop them, we’d get a penalty.”

Two straight holding calls in the first quarter forced the Sea Kings to punt after driving down to the red zone. CdM ended the game with six holding penalties, and Freeman was visibly peeved.

“They get mad at me when I yell at officials,” Freeman said. “On a football game, one team doesn’t hold. There was a lot of them, yes there was. And if we’re holding, then we need to not do that.”

Molnar started off the night with a first-quarter pick in the end zone, but things really heated up for him in the fourth quarter. After Austin Raiger came dangerously close to picking off a pass, the Eagles ran the same play on the next down, and this time, it was Molnar who hit paydirt with a 50-yard return. Later, Molnar’s six-yard interception return put CdM in place for its last score of the game, which would have sealed the win over South El Monte with 3:31 left in regulation. But Molnar wasn’t done.

He returned one more interception 27 yards to give the Sea Kings the ball at the Eagles’ 33-yard line and add one more flourish to the best game of his career.

“It just felt like the quarterback was pretty easy to read,” Molnar said. “You could tell where he was going to throw and it was just a matter of breaking on the ball and making the play. We knew that they had really good receivers, so we were game-planning for that the whole week.”

Junior noseguard/running back Dan DiChiro provided a momentary scare when he collapsed on the field after time had run out and the Sea Kings were celebrating. DiChiro had taken a little longer to get up after he and Ben Noe sacked Garay on the last play of the game, but seemed fine before collapsing. He was on the field for about six minutes talking to the team doctor, before getting up with help to yell, “Let’s celebrate!”

Freeman was not sure if DiChiro had suffered a concussion.

“I guess he got hit on one of the interceptions, on a block, on that last interception, and he got a little light-headed, and he didn’t tell anybody,” Freeman said. “It’s just one of those things where I guess he got his heart rate up. He’s going to get it checked out. He’s walking around. He seems to be OK.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.

FIRST QUARTER

SEM – Navarro 5 run (Flores kick).

SECOND QUARTER

SEM – Mendoza 1 run (Flores kick).

CDM – Abbott 14 run (Alder pass).

FOURTH QUARTER

CDM – Alder 16 run (Moisen kick).

CDM – Abbott 22 run (Moisen kick).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

SEM – Garay 8-67; Mendoza 21-45, 1 TD; Navarro 2-5, 1TD; Cogburn 2-8.

CDM – Abbott 12-77, 2 TD; Harmon 11-51; Raiger 6-34; Alder 1-16, 1 TD; Hasse 1-0.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

SEM – Garay, 5-9-4 84.

CDM – Alder 7-12-1 65.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

SEM – Luna 2-60; Acosta 2-19; De Leon 1-5.

CDM – Haase 3-26; Meshkin 2-18; Harmon 1-24; DiChiro 1-2.