Marina Scores Early, Often to Rout Corona del Mar

In a nonleague game that for all practical purposes was over while the notes of the national anthem were still hanging in the cool night breeze, Marina manhandled Corona del Mar, 34-0, Friday in front of 1,200 at Newport Harbor High.

The Vikings (1-1) got all the points they needed on a one-yard run by tailback Mike Darling on their first play from scrimmage with 10 minutes 22 seconds left in the opening period. The touchdown came after linebacker Greg Sato intercepted a pass by Corona del Mar quarterback Todd Kehrli on the Sea Kings’ third play of the game and returned it 49 yards.

But that was only a prelude of what was to come. Marina kept pounding almost at will at Corona del Mar (1-1) and steadily increased its lead until the final seconds mercifully ticked off the clock for the Sea Kings.

“It seemed a little sloppy in the first half, but the offensive line did some job in the second half and we were able to run our veer offense,” Marina Coach Dave Thompson said.

That they did, with senior quarterback Chris Della Croce performing the duties magnificently. Della Croce threw for 114 yards and two touchdowns, and led the Vikings in rushing with 73 yards in nine carries. One of his runs, a 60-yard dash along the left sideline, gave Marina a 20-0 edge with 9:34 remaining in the third quarter.

He got help in the backfield from junior fullback John Marvos, who rushed for 62 yards in 14 carries and scored the final touchdown of the game with 2:51 remaining to play.

“I’m real happy with the improvement we’ve made at quarterback and fullback,” Thompson said.

When Della Croce and Marvos weren’t creating problems for Corona del Mar, the Marina defense was effectively halting Sea King drives. In fact, Corona del Mar’s deepest penetration in the game was to the Marina 39-yard line twice, but one ended in a Sea King punt and the other on an interception by defensive back Jeff Nyssen of a Kehrli pass.

Kehrli, who last week passed for 155 yards against Huntington Beach, completed only five of 19 attempts for 57 yards.