PREP FLASHBACK : THIS WEEK IN COUNTY PREP SPORTS HISTORY

10 YEARS AGO

Corona del Mar Coach Jack Errion had a revolutionary defense set up for the game against rival Newport Harbor: man-to-man.

“Zone defense is un-American,” Errion said. “If the colonists had not played man-to-man in the Revolution, we would still be a British colony.”

The Newport Harbor-Corona del Mar rivalry is still intact in 1991, but the ferocity of the rivalry could be traced to the billing of the nonleague matchup as the “Battle of the Bay” in 1981.

It was a nonleague game in those days, but the title could have been “Burial at Sea,” as Corona del Mar rolled to a 59-47 victory.

Corona del Mar forward Jeff Pries scored 23 points and center Mark Spinn had 19 against Newport Harbor’s 2-3 zone. Corona del Mar used its man-to-man defense to stop Newport Harbor.

5 YEARS AGO

Katella was on a roll because of 6-foot-8 senior forward Bob Erbst.

Erbst scored 30 points to lead Katella to its fourth consecutive victory, 70-56 over Kennedy.

“Tonight it was Erbst and zilch. Erbst played well; he started to get into his game,” Katella Coach Tom Danley said. “He’s the hub and the rest of the team are spokes.”

Erbst made 11 of 17 shots from the field and eight of nine free-throw attempts. The only negative was that he fouled out of the game with 3 minutes 34 seconds left to play.

But by then the wheel was rolling.

1 YEAR AGO

St. Paul didn’t worry Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight. His team would beat them in the Angelus League opener, 95-61. It was St. Paul’s basketball court that worried McKnight.

The court at St. Paul is a painted concrete surface that is slick and unforgiving to the fallen.

“It’s like a Boys’ Club court. Someone needs to do something about that court before someone gets seriously hurt,” McKnight said. “It’s a slip and slide out there.”