Fab four boosts CdM

Jack Gorab, Grady Howe, Mason Case and Greg Allen have their lockers next to each other.

None of them expected this as freshmen at Corona del Mar High.

“Random luck,” Allen said of their situation.

No one expected the four to be on the same boys’ soccer field this season either.

But there they are, literally side by side in the midfield, Howe in the center, Gorab to his left and Case to his right.

Allen is in the back with the last line of defense.

“I’m really grateful,” said the 5-foot-3 Howe, easily the shortest of the four.

The other three players feel the same as Howe about the opportunity to start on varsity as freshmen.

Coach Pat Callaghan is glad he turned to them early in the season. Without the foursome, he said CdM wouldn’t be where it is right now.

The Sea Kings are in first place in the Pacific Coast League.

Starting four freshmen is a first for Callaghan at CdM (7-5-3, 3-0-1 in league). There’s a reason why he never tried it before, or thought about it in his previous eight seasons.

“I don’t really want younger players to be on the varsity level and on the bench,” said Callaghan, adding that younger players tend to struggle with the game’s faster pace and competing against bigger and more experienced players.

“I honestly felt Jack was ready to break in [at the start of the season]. I thought the other guys needed some time.”

It didn’t take a long time for Gorab’s locker-room neighbors to join him on varsity.

The Sea Kings began the season without two of their premier players, junior striker Reed Williams and sophomore defender Brian Ford. The two players had a club commitment with the local Slammers, forcing them to miss the first five matches.

At the time, CdM was desperate for a spark. The season began with three losses and two ties.

Callaghan had to go out of his realm. It was time to tap into the future.

In the fourth match of the season, Howe was the first freshman called up. Howe contributed in his debut, tying a nonleague match against Edison, 1-1, in the 55th minute.

Howe will never forget the goal, even though the Sea Kings eventually lost, 2-1. He replays it in his head.

The play started on a long throw-in by junior Alex Mainthow. From the near post, senior Tommy Bangert headed a pass toward the far post, where Howe put it away with his foot.

“You don’t realize what you did until … the biggest kid on the field [Alfie Nowak] picked me up and carried me around,” Howe said.

Seeing Nowak, a senior, lift Howe off his feet is becoming routine.

Howe said he has recorded four goals. The latest came in a 2-0 victory against Beckman Friday, ending the first round of league action.

The rapid maturation of the four freshmen bodes well for CdM in the second round of league action and the playoffs.

“We’ve got to be the favorite [in league],” said Callaghan, whose team finished second last season behind Laguna Hills. “The teams I consider the strongest [contenders] are Laguna Hills and University, which we played on the road. We have them at home the second time around.”

On any field, the Sea Kings have been tough to beat in league play.

Only one team in league has scored a goal against CdM, which is looking to claim its first league crown since the 2003-04 season. That same season, Callaghan guided the program to the CIF Southern Section Division II semifinals.

Allen has played a vital role in shutting down the opposition. It helps having Ford around and senior goalkeeper Zak Maurer-Erickson, who has recorded three straight league shutouts.

The four freshmen are the first to tell you Williams and upperclassmen like Miles Kellerman are the key to the Sea Kings’ success. Callaghan said none of the older players are resentful of the freshmen.

“I think it’s really great that [Callaghan has] gotten past the fact that we’re freshmen and just put us on the team,” said Howe, who had played with Gorab, Case and Allen before on the Slammers. “I bet it was [tough for him to do] because there [are] a lot of older guys, [playing] their last year or second-to-last year [at CdM].”

The mix of youngsters and veterans is working.

Williams is a scoring machine. He’s tallied six goals in league. Two of the goals at home haven’t come on the best of field conditions.

The pitch at CdM is uneven and has patches of grass. The field hasn’t affected CdM, which is 3-0 in its last three home matches, outscoring the opposition, 11-0.

“Everyone is playing on the same field,” Gorab said.

The players who complain don’t play for CdM. Howe recently warned a player from Irvine about the Sea Kings’ field.

“I was telling him before the game, ‘Hey, our field is not that good,’ ” Howe said. “He’s like, ‘All right. Is that going to be your excuse?’ I’m like, ‘It’s going to be yours, man!’ ”

The Sea Kings went on to beat Irvine, 3-0. The Irvine player Howe talked to before the match approached Howe afterward.

“This field is bad!” Howe said the player told him. “I’m like, ‘I told you!’ ”