CdM beats Trabuco Hills in final nonleague tuneup

Corona del Mar High football coach Dan O’Shea was honest in his assessment of the Sea Kings’ performance following Friday night’s 28-7 nonleague win at Trabuco Hills.

The Sea Kings played well fundamentally on defense, and were inconsistent on offense.

But the defense led to offense late in the first half, providing a spark for Corona del Mar (4-1) heading into Pacific Coast League play next week against Beckman. The Sea Kings, ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division 4, struggled a bit in the first half against Trabuco Hills (2-4) after senior quarterback Nathaniel Espinoza led the team to a touchdown on its first drive.

Espinoza capped the 65-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver John Humphreys, who used his 6-foot-5 frame and out-leaped the defensive back in the end zone. But the Sea Kings had two punts and a turnover-on-downs on their next three series, as the Mustangs kept the game within a single touchdown.

“Defensively, fundamentally we played really, really well,” O’Shea said. “Offensively, we had some bright moments, but we were just too inconsistent, both in the running game and passing game right now. We can get a lot better, and we will, for sure.”

Momentum changed in CdM’s favor, though, after Trabuco Hills senior quarterback Joey Ertz left the game with what was later called a biceps tear in the second quarter. Sophomore Aidan Armstrong came in at quarterback for the Mustangs, and a couple of turnovers changed the momentum of the game.

The first one wasn’t Armstrong’s fault. His pass over the middle to Garrett Pinvidic resulted in a fumble after Pinvidic turned and started to head up the field. CdM junior defensive lineman Chase Hartsell picked it up and rumbled 35 yards, to the Trabuco 15-yard line. The home fans wanted to the play to be called an incomplete pass, but the referees conferred and kept the fumble ruling.

CdM’s offense took advantage. On the next play, Espinoza found TaeVeon Le in the back corner of the end zone. It was one of two receiving touchdowns on the night for Le, a recent Harvard commit who finished with four catches for 86 yards.

Trabuco Hills got the ball back after a touchback on the kickoff, but the next play from scrimmage also went poorly for the Mustangs. Humphreys found the end zone again, this time on defense. He jumped a route and returned it for six down the home sideline. After Max Casper’s conversion kick, CdM had scored 14 points in just seven seconds and grabbed a 21-0 advantage.

“The D-line got penetration, made the QB rush and I read a slant-read,” Humphreys said. “I just jumped it and had one goal, to get to the end zone … Our defense, we’ve been playing good, but we haven’t been playing great. This whole week, we kind of preached, ‘No first downs, no touchdowns,’ and we did pretty well tonight, better than we have in the past.”

Trabuco Hills had just 62 total yards at halftime. The Mustangs did get on the scoreboard in the final minute of the game, when JC Montgomery scored from a yard out with 11 seconds left to cap a 99-yard drive. Montgomery was a bright spot for the home team with 132 yards from scrimmage.

O’Shea, a former defensive coordinator and teacher at Trabuco Hills, gave credit to the Mustangs, who never quit.

“They have a ton of guys banged up, but that’s a really good football program that’s really well-coached,” he said. “Hat’s off to them; we love this rivalry a bunch … I had the time of my life both teaching and coaching here, and to come back and see some old friends was very special to me. This school was really good to both myself and [CdM offensive coordinator] Kevin Hetting, and it’s a real joy to be back here and share some laughs with some friends.”

Sophomore Ethan Garbers played quarterback for CdM for much of the second half, throwing a 32-yard touchdown over the middle to Le midway through the third quarter. Jack Elliott, a junior, also had a fourth-quarter interception for the Sea Kings.

CdM can now turn its attention to Pacific Coast League play. The Sea Kings are going for their sixth straight league title, and have won 25 straight league games.

“Hopefully we can play well in league, play mistake-free football and get ready for playoffs,” Humphreys said. “It should be a fun run.”

Corona del Mar…………………..7 14 7 0 — 28

Trabuco Hills..……………………0 0 0 7 — 7

FIRST QUARTER

CdM – Humphreys 8 pass from Espinoza (Casper kick), 8:15.

SECOND QUARTER

CdM – Le 15 pass from Espinoza (Casper kick), 5;38.

CdM – Humphreys 25 INT return (Casper kick), 5:31.

THIRD QUARTER

CdM – Le 32 pass from E. Garbers (Casper kick), 7:58.

FOURTH QUARTER

TH – Montgomery 1 run (Brosnan kick), 0:07.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CdM – Murphy, 12-59.

TH – Montgomery, 24-83, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CdM – Garbers, 4-11-0, 78, 1 TD.

TH – Armstrong, 11-24-2, 106.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CdM – Le, 4-86, 2 TDs.

TH – Montgomery, 2-49.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo