Kehrli’s 47-Yard Pass to Clark Clicks for Corona del Mar

When Corona del Mar quarterback Todd Kehrli rolled to his left to pass Friday night, he wasn’t supposed to throw the ball to wide receiver Jason Clark.

Then again, Clark wasn’t supposed to be wide open.

Kehrli’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Clark on the third play from scrimmage in the second half gave Corona del Mar a 13-3 victory over Newport Harbor in the Sea View League opener for both teams Friday night at Newport Harbor.

With the score tied, 3-3, Kehrli rolled out on a bootleg play and looked for tight end George Dickson, who was double-covered. Then he saw Clark sprinting across from the right side.

“I waited and waited,” Kehrli said. “I was really surprised to see (Clark) that open.”

So was Clark, who caught four passes for 71 yards.

“I was just the second choice,” he said. “I couldn’t believe I was wide open.”

Kehrli, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior, completed 13 of 21 passes for 159 yards as the Sea Kings (4-2, 1-0 in league play) won their fourth consecutive game. Newport Harbor dropped to 4-2, 0-1.

“Todd always does a good job of finding his secondary receivers,” Corona del Mar Coach Dave Holland said of Kehrli’s touchdown pass. “He threw the ball really well tonight.”

Trailing, 10-7, Newport Harbor drove to Corona del Mar’s 14-yard line late in the third quarter, but quarterback Steve Walker was penalized for intentionally grounding the ball, and was then sacked by Dickson for a 10-yard loss. The Sailors’ Josh Klein, who kicked a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, fell 10 yards short and wide right on a 53-yard attempt after the sack.

“Those plays really hurt us,” Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said. “We needed to get the ball in there or at least come out of it with a field goal. That series absolutely killed us.”

Tom Hess kicked a 20-yard field goal with six minutes left in the fourth quarter to push Corona del Mar’s lead to 13-3. Hess also kicked a 25-yard field goal that tied the score at 3-3 with 11:12 left in the second quarter.

Walker completed 15 of 26 passes for 126 yards and George Greenwalt caught seven passes for 78 yards to lead Newport Harbor.