Week 12 High School Football Preview: Corona del Mar vs. Downey
When/where: Friday, 7 p.m. at Newport Harbor High
Key Sea Kings: Sr. QB Nathaniel Espinoza (121 of 192 passing for 2,122 yards, 27 TDs and one INT; 107 carries for 760 yards rushing and 12 TDs); Sr. WR TaeVeon Le (49 catches for 988 yards and 14 TDs); So. WR-SS John Humphreys (47 catches for 943 yards and 15 TDs; 65 tackles)
Key Vikings: Jr. QB Kijjon Foots (137 of 208 passing for 2,418 yards, 18 TDs and three INTs; 99 carries for 907 yards and 14 TDs); Sr. RB-CB Baraq Ross (209 carries for 1,731 yards and 24 TDs); Sr. WR Christopher Atkins (45 catches for 970 yards and eight TDs)
Breakdown: Fourth-seeded Corona del Mar (10-1), coming off a thrilling 42-35 comeback victory over Eastvale Roosevelt in the first round, plays host to Downey (9-2) in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs at Davidson Field … Le made the go-ahead, one-handed touchdown catch with 14 seconds remaining against Roosevelt, adding to his own CdM career record of 43 touchdown receptions … Downey is another tough opponent. The Vikings, who finished second in the San Gabriel Valley League to snap a six-year run as outright or co-league champions, ended the season ranked No. 5 in Division 4 … Downey’s only setback in league was a 21-20 overtime loss to league champion Paramount, the No. 2 seed in the Division 5 playoffs that plays at Temecula Chaparral on Friday … With a combined 1,667 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground, Espinoza and Foots are two quarterbacks who like to scramble. Espinoza is averaging 7.1 yards per carry and Foots is at 9.2 … Ross, a shifty 5-foot-8 transfer from Bellflower St. John Bosco, has topped 100 yards rushing in each of his team’s last 10 games. CdM coach Dan O’Shea said Ross is at least as good as Al Fisher of JSerra, who is the top running back the Sea Kings have faced this season … The winner of Friday night’s game plays either top-seeded Capistrano Valley or La Verne Damien in the semifinals.
Twitter: @mjszabo
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