CdM football team loaded
There is a chain-link fence surrounding Corona del Mar High’s football field. The fence is to keep people off the field.
The school resodded the grass about a month ago, and Coach Dan O’Shea likes the way it looks, yet the Sea Kings have been unable to work out on it.
The Sea Kings already have a field they cannot play night games on because there are no lights, no stands, no bathrooms and no concessions. These days the Sea Kings cannot even practice on their field, not until after Labor Day.
With the field not ready for use, one of the best high school football programs in Orange County has had to mostly practice off campus. The CdM season is right around the corner, on Friday at Palos Verdes, and figuring out where to get ready for the opener has had its difficulties.
“We can’t tell you how big of a nightmare it is to schedule practice for 100 kids,” O’Shea said. “[The players are] driving in cars to Estancia [High], to Bonita Creek [Park]. Every day we’re at a different place.”
Almost every practice has been a roadshow for CdM. The Sea Kings have a couple of high-profile attractions in Cal-bound quarterback Chase Garbers and wide receiver Taeveon Le, a 6-foot-4, 225-pounder who has a handful of Pacific-12 Conference programs interested in the junior.
The two have wowed college coaches who have visited CdM to watch Garbers and Le practice. Those same coaches have also shaken their heads at the Sea Kings’ fields.
“We’re trying to keep our kids off that grass as much as possible because it’s just injury after injury after injury waiting to happen,” said Kevin Hettig, CdM’s offensive coordinator, referring to the practice field, which is patchy, uneven and hard.
The Sea Kings have instead practiced at Bonita Creek Park in Newport Beach and once a week at Jim Scott Stadium, where for the second straight year they will play their home games. Newport Harbor’s Davidson Field, CdM’s home in the past, is undergoing renovations.
Out of the four Newport-Mesa programs, Estancia has had its synthetic turf field and stadium for eight years, Costa Mesa opens it new facility this season, Newport Harbor’s will be ready by next season, yet CdM is still without a state-of-the-art stadium. Pushback from the nearby residents has stalled CdM’s stadium plans.
“We got to stay humble. We don’t deserve the turf yet,” joked O’Shea, who is well aware that the money, an estimated $11 million, is there to build the stadium as most of the work will be funded through Measure F, a $282-million bond measure passed by district voters in 2005. “They are trying to discourage you from having an on-campus stadium when every other high school in the county has one, virtually. And these are the same people who want to run on the track and use the facility, why not make it better for the community?”
While the Sea Kings have practiced on arguably the worst fields in the past, the conditions have not stopped them from succeeding.
The Sea Kings are again the favorites to win the Pacific Coast League title. They have finished first the last four years, going 5-0 in league every time. The last time CdM lost a game in league was in O’Shea’s first season with the Sea Kings in 2011, when he was the defensive coordinator.
O’Shea is in his second year at the helm of CdM, and for the first time since he came to the school, he no longer is the defensive coordinator. The title belongs to Brian Pearsall, who spent last season running Servite’s defense under Scott Meyer, the former CdM coach. Defensive end Teddy Barber and linebacker Mickey Quinn highlight two of five starters returning on defense.
“A dramatic lift for this program,” O’Shea said of landing Pearsall, who had been an assistant at CdM in the past, serving under Jason Hitchens and Meyer. “Having coached with him [at CdM] in 2012 and 2013, the 2013 year being the year we won [CIF State Division III], we wouldn’t have had the success defensively without him being here previously coaching.
“[Bringing Pearsall back to CdM] made my life ridiculously easy because he is the only guy that I trust enough to turn over the defense to, along with Tony Thornton, and that’s a big deal.”
O’Shea said giving up the defensive duties allows him to have a bigger presence on both sides of the ball, and he can oversee the development of the whole program, from the lower-level teams to youth camps.
The Sea Kings are poised for a huge year, bigger than their previous two that ended on the road in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs.
With the section going to a different playoff system, CdM is in Division 4, many expect the Sea Kings to contend for a section crown. CalPreps.com has CdM ranked No. 3 in Division 4, behind No. 1 Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, the Mid-Valley Division champion and CIF State Bowl Open Division finalist last year, and No. 2 Covina Charter Oak, last year’s Central Division runner-up finisher.
In July, CdM ran into Charter Oak during the Battle at the Beach seven-on-seven passing tournament at Edison. The Sea Kings beat Charter Oak, 32-25, in pool-play action, as well as reigning Southwest Division champion La Habra, 27-13, and Pac-5 Division quarterfinalist Los Angeles Loyola, 19-7.
The Sea Kings almost stunned Mater Dei in the tournament. The Monarchs broke up a pass on the last play to seal a 20-18 win and the pool.
Mater Dei went on to win the tournament, but CdM capped off an impressive offseason, which also included winning the seven-on-seven tournaments at Dana Hills and San Juan Hills in May, topping Edison in both finals.
During those events, O’Shea said it validated that CdM could compete at a high level and knock off upper-echelon programs. Now comes the real season and winning section and state championships, which the Sea Kings last pulled off in 2013, when they claimed the Southern Division for the third year in a row and state for the first time.
“We all believe we have a good shot to go undefeated and win a CIF title and a state title, that’s the goal every year here at CdM,” Garbers said. “We have been grinding and working really hard and we are ready to go.”
The Sea Kings bring back eight starters from their no-huddle, spread offense, starting with Garbers. He threw for 2,715 yards and 33 touchdowns, both CdM single-season records, while only throwing three interceptions a year ago. He has the targets in Le and seniors Billy Shaw, Reese Perez and Cameron Kormos.
Hettig said to count on more of a balanced attack from the Sea Kings, who went 9-3 overall last year. The offense has two running backs — senior Jaydin Moses and junior JT Murphy — whom O’Shea said are mirror images of each other. Moses, who rushed 127 times for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns, and Murphy will run behind what O’Shea calls one of the county’s top offensive lines. Three starters return — senior center Arwin Rahmatpanah, senior right guard Bryan Samudro and junior right tackle Denham King — and there is a transfer from Troy in left tackle Colston Chacon, a 6-4, 270-pound junior.
“Experience is a big deal,” said O’Shea, whose team will need it when it travels for its first two games, Palos Verdes next week and Los Gatos the following week.
The first one kicks off early, 3 p.m., because Palos Verdes, just like CdM’s field on campus, does not have lights. What both programs do have is a winning tradition, as Palos Verdes was the Western Division finalist last year.
The second game is going to be a 388-mile trip up north, taking an extra day to arrive for the Sept. 2 contest and an extra day to return. John Griffin, the associate head coach of the CdM freshman team, helped organize the game with Los Gatos. Griffin graduated from Los Gatos in 1984.
“It’s an opportunity to get on a bus for a really long time and having to go play a high school football game in a different geographical area,” O’Shea said of the challenge the Sea Kings face with Los Gatos, which went 7-4 and lost in the opening round of the CIF Central Coast Open Division II playoffs last year. “Being able to handle travel will be a big part of it for all of us.”
Corona del Mar Sea Kings
League: Pacific Coast
CIF Division: 4
Coach: Dan O’Shea (second year)
Staff: Kevin Hettig (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/strength), Brian Pearsall (defensive coordinator/defensive line), Brad Bohn (special teams), Dennis Wilbanks (offensive line), Tony Thornton (secondary/strength), Zach Stein (secondary), Karif Byrd (running backs/speed and conditioning), Jake Morado (offensive line/h-backs), Ryan Ketcham (linebackers), Jack O’Shea (director of scout team operations), Bob Hettig (director of scout team operations), Robb Fahrion (wide receivers), Craig Truglio (trainer)
2015 season: 9-3, 5-0 in Pacific Coast League (first place), lost at Buena Park, 35-17, in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs
Offensive scheme: No-huddle, spread offense
Defensive scheme: 4-3
Returning offensive starters: Eight
Returning defensive starters: Five
Returning with honors: QB Chase Garbers, RB-LB Jaydin Moses, OL Arwin Rahmatpanah, OL Bryan Samudro, DE Teddy Barber, LB Mickey Quinn, WR-CB Reese Perez
SCHEDULE
August
26 – at Palos Verdes, 3 p.m.
September
2 – at Los Gatos
9 – El Toro
16 – vs. Newport Harbor at Orange Coast College
30 – Trabuco Hills
October
6 – vs. Woodbridge*
13 – Beckman* at Tustin
20 – at University*
28 – vs. Northwood* at Portola
November
4 – at Irvine*
*denotes league game
All home games at Jim Scott Stadium, unless noted
All games 7 p.m., unless noted.
