Corona del Mar football gets past Alemany to set up CIF final rematch with Grace Brethren
In the first half, Corona del Mar High senior quarterback Ethan Garbers used his feet to find the end zone.
In the second half, Garbers used his arm.
Either was effective for the Sea Kings, who also shut down a high-powered Mission Hills Alemany offense. There was a reason why CdM coach Dan O’Shea called it one of the best wins in program history in his postgame speech to his team.
A complete effort propelled the top-seeded Sea Kings to their third CIF Southern Section championship game in four years, after a 48-21 win over No. 4 Alemany in a Division 3 semifinal playoff game Friday night at Father Milbauer Stadium in Mission Hills.
CdM (13-0) will host No. 2 Simi Valley Grace Brethren (12-1), a 49-45 winner over No. 3 La Habra, in the final at Newport Harbor High on either Nov. 29 or 30. It’s a rematch of last year’s Division 4 final, which saw Grace Brethren pull off a 26-14 upset of the Sea Kings at Simi Valley Royal High.
“It doesn’t matter [who wins the other semifinal],” Garbers said, before learning that Grace Brethren beat La Habra on a five-yard touchdown run in the waning seconds. “We’ll play any team ... we were prepared to score on every drive tonight and we had faith in our defense to get a couple of stops. I mean, we’re just getting better every week. We’ve got to get better. We’re trying to have a perfect game, where we don’t get stopped one time and we score on every drive.”
Garbers had three rushing touchdowns in the first half and four passing touchdowns in the second half. He finished 22 of 32 passing for 357 yards, with no interceptions.
The offense keeps rolling for the Sea Kings, who have scored 42 or more points in all but one game this season. They punted just once against Alemany.
Senior receiver John Humphreys had seven catches for 124 yards and a 65-yard touchdown, while senior tight end Mark Redman had six catches for 48 yards and Bradley Schlom added two receiving touchdowns. Simon Hall’s only catch of the game was highlight worthy, as he reached around the defensive back to snag a 12-yard touchdown to extend the Sea Kings’ lead to 35-21 in the third quarter.
Redman also contributed two sacks on defense, and Cole Rener added a sack.
“What can you say about our offense?” O’Shea said. “I mean, holy smokes, they were flawless … Going on the road, late in the playoffs in foreign territory, and our kids responded so well. You hope to just play normal, and I think short of the first two drives on defense we played normal thereafter. That’s all you want to do at this juncture, play to what you think you are, and I think we were able to later in the game.”
Senior cornerback Chandler Fincher had two interceptions for CdM, which limited Alemany (9-4) to one touchdown after the first quarter ended tied 14-14.
“He’s unbelievable,” O’Shea said of Fincher, who now has three interceptions this season. “He always takes the other team’s best wide receiver. The San Clemente guy did nothing, the Edison guy had one catch for five yards. You know, he always takes the best guy and loves the challenge. He’s a competitor and he can play with anybody in the state.”
Alemany opened the scoring as junior quarterback Miller Moss found junior receiver DJ Justice on a six-yard touchdown pass. CdM came right back, as Garbers found running room right for a seven-yard score on the ground.
Warriors junior Jaylin Smith got loose on a 43-yard touchdown run, before Garbers had another one-yard scamper for six.
The defenses tightened, until CdM put together a big touchdown drive that spanned nearly five minutes late in the half. It wasn’t easy, as the Sea Kings converted two fourth downs, with Garbers completing a nine-yard pass to Redman on fourth-and-eight. The University of Washington-bound quarterback eventually scored his third rushing touchdown of the half, giving the Sea Kings a 21-14 halftime lead.
From there, the aerial attack took over for the Sea Kings.
“I mean, [Garbers] is unbelievable,” said Humphreys, who will try to help CdM win its first section championship since 2013. “You can tell by the way that we play that we’re super close. I’m just trying to play as many more games as I can with him and all of these guys.”
CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs
Semifinal
Corona del Mar 48, Alemany 21
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Corona del Mar 14 – 7 – 14 – 13 — 48
Alemany 14 – 0 –7 – 0 — 21
FIRST QUARTER
A – Justice 6 pass from Moss (Valencia kick), 8:39.
CdM – Garbers 7 run (Voorhees kick), 5:00.
A – Smith 43 run (Valencia kick), 2:53.
CdM – Garbers 1 run (Voorhees kick), 0:21.
SECOND QUARTER
CdM – Garbers 2 run (Voorhees kick), 0:16.
THIRD QUARTER
CdM – Schlom 9 pass from Garbers (Voorhees kick), 7:51.
A – Strong 4 run (Valencia kick), 4:30.
CdM – Hall 12 pass from Garbers (Voorhees kick), 3:33.
FOURTH QUARTER
CdM – Humphreys 65 pass from Garbers (Voorhees kick), 11:48.
CdM – Schlom 2 pass from Garbers (kick failed), 7:59.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
CdM – Binnquist, 12-50.
A – Chalk, 13-99.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
CdM – Garbers, 22-32-0, 357, 4 TDs.
A – Moss, 17-28-2, 148, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
CdM – Humphreys, 7-124, 1 TD.
A – Justice, 5-60, 1 TD.
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