Corona del Mar cruises past rival Newport Harbor
The Corona del Mar High football offense is designed to strike quickly.
How quickly?
A competitive Battle of the Bay game against rival Newport Harbor quickly turned into a rout on Friday night in a matter of minutes.
The Sea Kings scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter and went on to cruise to a 56-17 victory in the Sunset League game.
Corona del Mar (9-0, 4-0 in league), the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 3, won its seventh straight rivalry game against Newport Harbor (7-2, 2-2). The Sea Kings have at least a share of the league title and can clinch it with a win against Los Alamitos (3-1 in league) on Nov. 1 at Newport Harbor.
University of Washington-committed Corona del Mar senior quarterback Ethan Garbers threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns, adding a pair of four-yard rushing scores.
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Senior receiver John Humphreys, bound for Stanford, had seven catches for 138 yards and four touchdowns.
“It’s a great feeling,” Garbers said. “It was a weird vibe [early], but I feel like whenever we get the ball, we’re ready to click.”
Newport Harbor, ranked No. 4 in Division 9, opened the game with a 20-play drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock. The Sailors ended it with a 41-yard field goal by Jack Starnes. Corona del Mar senior Zack Green gave the momentum right back to the Sea Kings, as he took the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown.
The Sailors regained the lead at 10-7 midway through the second quarter, on a 20-yard screen pass from sophomore quarterback Nick Kim to junior running back Justin McCoy. McCoy finished with 108 yards rushing and another score.
Mission Viejo defeated San Clemente 38-6 to clinch at least a share of the South Coast League title for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
“We were on our heels a little bit, and compliments to them, hats off to them,” Sea Kings coach Dan O’Shea said. “I think after those first couple of drives, it allowed our offense to get in a rhythm. We scored two touchdowns in two minutes [before halftime], which is just insanity.”
Mark Redman had two quarterback sacks for Corona del Mar and the senior, bound for Washington as a tight end, also had five catches for 96 yards.
Cole Rener added an interception for the winners.
Newport Harbor closes out the regular season at home against Edison (3-1 in league) on Thursday night.
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