Corona del Mar Flags Down Eager Chaminade, 36-29

Extra hustle and intensity will never hurt a football team.

Well, almost never.

It killed Chaminade High on Friday night against Corona del Mar. The Eagles were flagged for a late hit out of bounds on a key third-down play, and the penalty prolonged a drive that led to the winning touchdown in the Sea Kings’ 36-29 Division IV first-round playoff victory at Chaminade High.

Corona del Mar’s J.R. Walz, who led all rushers with 150 yards, later scored from four yards with 50 seconds remaining.

The see-saw game was tied, 29-29, midway through the fourth quarter, and Corona del Mar (7-3-1) was facing third and seven from its 48.

Sea King quarterback Matt Evans scrambled toward the sideline short of a first down but was hit by Steve Bruckner out of bounds.

“The kids are caught up in the emotion of the game,” Chaminade Coach Rich Lawson said. “You can’t fault a kid for hustle. You tell them to play right up to the whistle.

“Sometimes they don’t hear the whistle.”

Chaminade (8-3) made one final attempt to drive downfield for a tying score, but Justin Giovannettone fumbled at the Corona del Mar 17 after catching a pass.

Giovannettone finished the game--his last at Chaminade--with 80 yards and three touchdowns in 15 carries. He also caught six passes for 50 yards. Like the Eagles’ season, his streak of nine consecutive 100-yard rushing performances.

Chaminade’s Franklin Saunders, who didn’t practice because of a sprained left ankle he suffered last week against Notre Dame, gained 35 yards in nine carries.

Eagle quarterback Ryan Graves completed 15 of 22 passes for 165 yards.

The loss ruined what would have been an improbable comeback.

Chaminade trailed, 21-6, midway through the second quarter. But the Eagles took advantage of Corona del Mar mistakes to chip away at the lead.

Two Chaminade scoring drives were keyed by 15-yard face-mask penalties on the Sea Kings.

Chaminade got the ball on turnovers four times and scored on three, taking a 29-21 lead with 9 minutes 59 seconds remaining in the game.

The third of those scores was the most dramatic. Eagle defensive lineman Jeremiah Reynolds deflected an Evans pass into the air and Thomas Hyung, who earlier recovered a fumble, grabbed the ball and ran 38 yards for the touchdown.

Corona del Mar drove the ball 80 yards for the tying score, then took the ball at its 45 and started the drive that was prolonged by the late hit.

The game showed Lawson something about Orange County football.

The Sea Kings finished fourth in the Sea View League, earning an at-large berth.

“If those guys finished fourth, I’d hate to see the team that finished first,” Lawson said.