Daily Pilot High School Football Player of the Week: CdM’s Barber no Teddy

Teddy Barber always wanted to be No. 99 with the Corona del Mar High football team. The reason why is because Parker Chase wore No. 99, and he gave offenses just as many problems two years ago.

After Chase’s senior year, in which the defensive end recorded 22 sacks, Barber asked him if he could have his number. Chase agreed, and Barber was No. 99 last year, his first season as a starter on varsity.

The Sea Kings got new uniforms in the spring for this year, Barber’s senior season. When it was time for Barber to try on the No. 99 jersey, it was too big and too long. The extra large size was perfect for someone like Chase, who is 6-foot-3, not Barber, who is five inches shorter.

The best CdM could do for Barber was to find him another number.

“We decided to cut the [No. 99] in half,” Barber said with a smile. “I became No. 9.”

While Barber is missing a No. 9 on his jersey, the defensive end is playing like the No. 99 who harassed quarterbacks a couple of years ago.

Teams are double-teaming Barber and he still finds a way to get in the backfield. In one half last week, the only one he played because CdM dominated host Beckman, 55-17, at Tustin High, Barber finished with 1.5 sacks and three tackles for losses.

Watching most of the second half from the sideline has become a habit for Barber and the rest of the defensive starters. The Sea Kings entered this week on a six-game winning streak, a stretch in which they have only allowed 12.8 points per game.

Fifty-five of the 77 points CdM has given up during those six contests have come in the second half, with the starters out and the game out of reach. The Sea Kings have turned things around in a big way since opening the season with a 42-20 loss at Palos Verdes on Aug. 26.

After the setback, Barber said CdM learned something. And with Barber being one of the team’s vocal leaders, he wasn’t afraid to say what went wrong.

“We realized that we need to be more physical at the point of attack,” Barber said. “We’re not going to win any games if we’re getting pushed around.”

The Sea Kings definitely don’t get knocked around in the Pacific Coast League.

The last time CdM lost in league was five years ago, when Beckman edged the Sea Kings, 42-37. The schools met in the league finale back then, and it was for first place.

Since then, the Sea Kings have claimed undefeated league crowns in each of the past four years. They’re the favorites to repeat, and while the offense gets a lot of the publicity because it features Cal-bound quarterback Chase Garbers and wideout TaeVeon Le, the Sea Kings have a tenacious defense.

“We need to have a great defense to match our great offense,” Barber said.

Barber and company turned in a great performance last week.

Three points are all Beckman managed against the Sea Kings’ first-team defense in the first half. The field goal came after a CdM muffed punt inside the 10-yard line early in the opening quarter. Sixty-six passing yards and 25 rushing yards are the numbers CdM allowed through two quarters.

By halftime, with CdM ahead, 42-3, Barber knew his night was over. He and Bryce Clabaugh, CdM’s other rusher off the edge, no longer could get after the quarterback.

Clabaugh went into Thursday night’s game with University leading CdM with 9.5 sacks, while Barber had four. As a defensive tackle a year ago, Barber’s 5.5 sacks ranked first on the team.

What CdM Coach Dan O’Shea said he appreciates the most about Barber are his leadership skills.

“He is without a doubt the vocal and emotional leader of our team,” O’Shea said. “We’ve been dying for a guy like this. We haven’t had a guy like this since the 2011 group, with like David Moore and Aaron White.

“It comes naturally [to Barber]. He was a [butt] whipper as a junior. Most high school kids don’t have the self-confidence to be the [vocal leader]. It’s hard being the leader, because you’re the guy [who gets on everybody]. You’re like a parent.”

Teddy Barber

Born: May 14, 1998

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 5-foot-8

Weight: 185 pounds

Sport: Football

Year: Senior

Coach: Dan O’Shea

Favorite food: Mac and cheese

Favorite movie: “Braveheart”

Favorite athletic moment: “Winning the Battle of the Bay [against rival Newport Harbor] for the fourth straight year.”

Week in review: Barber finished with five tackles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for losses in the Sea Kings’ 55-17 win against Beckman at Tustin High.