DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Ryan Mix likes to mix it up right at the start.

No tune-up. No freebie.

When the Corona del Mar High boys’ lacrosse team began the season at Newport Harbor last week, Mix smiled.

“I like to start with the big game,” he said of the Battle of the Bay. “Don’t really want to roll into anything, just get going. We needed a big game right before Foothill.

“You can’t go into that [Foothill game] not having game experience.”

The Sea Kings experienced a laugher. Mix scored five times and assisted on a goal, as CdM beat the host Sailors, 16-6.

Five days later, the Sea Kings traveled for another showdown. Not as easy as the opener.

In 10 matches, CdM was winless against Foothill. The two-time reigning champ of the Orange County Championship tournament was on its way on Wednesday to victory No. 11 against the Sea Kings.

Down two goals at halftime, Mix’s father, G.W., an assistant, addressed the team. It wasn’t your typical high school pep talk.

The Sea Kings gave up a bad goal with 23.4 seconds left in the first half. G.W. ripped into the team, sounding like he was in charge of an NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse team.

He was the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1991-94, so it made sense.

“You guys have been waiting for this moment,” the elder Mix said, according to Ryan. “We’re just going to let it go by? We might as well not be here.”

The Sea Kings showed up in the second half against the Knights, ranked No. 9 in the state by LaxPower.com.

Three minutes into the third quarter, the Knights appeared to cash in on a rebound. An illegal procedure nullified the goal.

Instead of a three-goal deficit, CdM was down two. The Sea Kings still struggled dodging the big hits and falling hard to the ground.

A minute later, a Foothill player drilled one of CdM’s younger players, Max Satossky. The sophomore began sprinting toward midfield before losing focus of the field. He found himself on his back. A player came out of the penalty area and leveled Satossky.

“That was bad,” Mix said of the hit. “He was definitely a little bit rattled.”

The Sea Kings continued on. Both defenses clamped down, holding each other scoreless in the third.

Mix, playing around the crease, was held scoreless since the 7:36 mark in the opening quarter. Someone else had to step up as the Knights contained Mix, a junior, who has verbally committed to Notre Dame.

Noah Molnar, Mix’s teammate nicknamed “Beef,” provided the scoring punch.

The Lehigh University-bound senior scored three times in the fourth, sending the game to sudden-death overtime.

In the four-minute overtime period, Molnar figured Mix’s off-season regimen would eventually benefit the Sea Kings.

“I’ve never seen someone work as hard in the off-season as this kid works,” Molnar said. “He went from being last year, [when] he was still a stud attacker, you know he’s a little chubby, a little slower last year, and then he just worked his butt off.

“This year he’s just killing it. He’s easily the best attacker in Orange County. Nobody can stop him.”

Foothill tried and failed with 1:48 left in overtime.

From behind the cage, Mix changed up his strategy.

“I went from being a finisher to a dodger,” Mix said.

Mix accomplished both. He dodged the defense, and then circled around before finishing in front of the goalie for the game-winner.

CdM pulled out a 7-6 victory, its first against Foothill.

“[Molnar] brought us back,” CdM Coach Mark Todd said. “Ryan finished it.”

At the start and at the end, Mix finds himself in the mix of CdM’s success.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.