CdM football taken out by top seed Murrieta Valley in CIF Division 2 opener

MURRIETA — The Corona del Mar football team saw its season come to an end on Friday at Murrieta Valley, but the Sea Kings took their time leaving the field.

At the end of a nine-win campaign, family and friends joined the team on the field to celebrate a season that signaled a return to normalcy for CdM, a program that had become a perennial playoff contender but missed the postseason a year ago.

Corona del Mar’s final half of the season demonstrated its competitiveness and pride. The Sea Kings endeavored to dig out of a deep hole, cutting a four-touchdown halftime deficit in half before falling to the top-seeded Nighthawks, 35-14, in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.

The offense started with the ball coming out of halftime. It took a little more than two minutes for CdM to drive 73 yards in seven plays, culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brady Annett to senior wide receiver Garrett James.

James then made a recovery on an onside kick, jumping on the ball before it could cross the CdM sideline and giving the Sea Kings excellent field position at the Murrieta Valley 28-yard line.

A 7-yard reception by junior tight end Ryan Herrera moved the ball to the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Herrera appeared to be the target again, but senior cornerback Mekhi Criss stepped in front of the pass for an interception at the midway point of the third quarter.

“This group is special,” CdM coach Kevin Hettig said. “It’s a great group of kids that cared so much about each other. … This is kind of cool, these kids hanging out, not wanting to leave the field together. They love each other, and they played like it.

“Tonight was tough, man. Murrieta Valley’s a good team. We had to play pretty close to perfect, and we didn’t. I’m proud of our kids. I’m proud of how hard we played. Our kids never quit. They never gave up. First couple series offensively, we turn it over, we don’t capitalize on some things, and it could have got way out of hand, but we actually for a minute there in the third [quarter] came back and made it a little game.”

Corona del Mar (9-2) forced a punt on the ensuing possession, but for all intents and purposes, the comeback had been thwarted with Murrieta Valley (8-3) successfully bleeding the clock.

Annett capped a 10-play, 78-yard drive — spanning the first four minutes of the fourth quarter — with a great individual effort. He rolled outside the hashmarks to the right side, before reversing field and running inside the left pylon for a 14-yard touchdown that brought the score to 28-14.

“The last four years probably were the most fun years of my life, or probably will be the most fun years of my life,” Annett said. “I’m kind of realizing that now. It’s just awesome. All these guys were like my closest friends growing up. I’m going to miss them to death. Every single one of those guys just won’t give up, and I just don’t think you’ll see that anywhere else.

“At halftime, we kind of talked about it, and we just couldn’t go out that way, decided to make a push for it, decided to try to be the legendary team that we are, that we could have been. We had it there for a sec[ond]. When you’re making a run like that, down 28 [points], things kind of got to go your way.”

Murietta’s sophomore quarterback, Ty Isaia, tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the contest, the last to junior wide receiver Caden Brown, to put the final nail in the coffin. Isaia threw for 150 yards, adding 11 carries for 70 yards and a rushing score.

The Sea Kings would enjoy possession for just one more series of downs the rest of the way.

Senior receiver Dorsett Stecker made eight grabs for 75 yards for CdM. Sophomore receiver JJ Haley added four catches for 60 yards.

Annett accumulated 235 passing yards but also had four interceptions and lost a fumble. He was the team’s leading rusher with a dozen carries for 55 yards, the 14-yard rushing score representing his longest gain on the ground.

“I’ve been around this program for a long time,” senior defensive lineman Damian Zeno-Herrera said. “Grew up being a ball boy here, so it’s kind of, like, unreal that it’s over already. It goes by really fast.”

Zeno-Herrera, a three-year starter, reflected on restoring the program to a higher standard as a senior.

“Obviously, we accomplished nine wins this year, especially coming out from last year [when CdM finished 4-6 overall],” he said. “We created a brotherhood this year. It’s not just about football. It’s about the memories, and my brothers are going to keep balling next year.”

CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs

Murrieta Valley 35, Corona del Mar 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Corona del Mar 0 - 0 - 7 - 7 — 14

Murrieta Valley 21 - 7 - 0 - 7 — 35

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CdM — Annett, 12-55, 1 TD; Stecker, 4-19; Kuchera, 3-17; Nixon, 2-7.

MV — Taddi, 14-141; Randolph, 8-71; Isaia, 11-70, 1 TD; Stephens, 4-15; Lopez, 2-11.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CdM — Annett, 21-37-4, 235, 1 TD.

MV — Isaia, 9-14-0, 150, 4 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CdM — Stecker, 8-75; Haley, 4-60; James, 2-31; Soto, 1-23; Kuchera, 3-22; Dickens, 1-9; Nixon, 1-8; Herrera, 1-7.

MV — Borden, 3-108, 3 TDs; Lopez, 2-16; Brown, 1-13; Medina, 1-8; Treadwell, 2-5.