PREP EXTRA / SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : Corona del Mar Rallies With Big Plays to Beat El Toro

Big plays and huge gains were common at Newport Harbor Friday night, but there wasn’t anything ordinary about the finish of Corona del Mar’s 35-28 Sea View League victory over El Toro.

Brian Hogan led the Sea Kings, rushing for 271 yards in 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 96 (a school record) and 74 yards, as Corona del Mar rallied from a 21-7 first-half deficit.

Hogan’s 74-yard scoring run with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in the game touched off a frantic set of events. Corona del Mar (3-3, 1-0) trailed, 28-21, before Hogan went off tackle and then cut up the left sideline for the long touchdown that made the score 28-27.

Corona del Mar then went for two, with quarterback Josh Walz scrambling into the end zone for the conversion to give the Sea Kings a 29-28 lead.

After the kickoff, El Toro (3-3, 0-1) quickly moved into Corona del Mar territory, but faced a fourth-and-eight situation at the Sea King 44-yard line. Corona del Mar defensive back Aaron Perlmutter then appeared to clinch the victory by intercepting El Toro’s Brian Wilson and returning 73 yards for a touchdown and a 35-28 Sea King lead with 35 seconds left.

Nothing was certain in this game, however, as El Toro’s Joe Ader returned the kickoff 50 yards to the Corona del Mar 42. Wilson tried to get off a pass as time was running out, but a sack by Fred Garcia finished things off.

Hogan’s 96-yard run late in the second quarter broke the previous Sea King record of 94 yards set by Brian Lucas in 1989 against La Quinta.