Prep football: Onward and upward

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Coming off its first nonleague victory in nearly

two years, the Corona del Mar High football team will see how it responds

to prosperity in Friday’s 7 p.m. nonleague clash with Westminster at

Newport Harbor High.

“It’s one thing to learn how to keep working hard after a loss and

another not to get too comfortable after a win,” said CdM Coach Dick

Freeman, whose Sea Kings (1-3) ended a 10-game losing streak outside of

Pacific Coast League play with a seesaw 38-35 triumph over Saddleback

last week. “We can’t say ‘We won a game, so we don’t need to keep

improving.’ ”

The Sea Kings made vast improvements in Week 4, amassing 430 yards of

total offense to nearly match their total the first three contests (505).

Most of that offensive windfall came on the ground, as senior tailback

Blake Hacker more than doubled his season rushing total with 209 yards on

29 carries.

Freeman also said he saw progress on defense, despite Saddleback’s 398

total yards.

“What was most encouraging to me, was that we made some big plays on

defense,” said Freeman, who coordinates the unit that had four

interceptions (three by senior cornerback Charlie Alshuler).

But while CdM appeared to find its offense last week, Westminster

(0-3-1) is still looking. The Lions have been shut out three times,

scoring all 22 of their points in a two-point loss to Costa Mesa Sept.

22. Only two Orange County teams have scored fewer points (Garden Grove

with 13 and Sunny Hills with 19).

“We’ve seen three different quarterbacks in the videotapes we’ve

looked at,” Freeman said. “And it looks like they’ve tried a different

offense every week.”

The one constant for Coach Ted McMillen has been senior running back

Christian Chamberlain. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder has rushed for 189

yards on 52 carries.

Sophomore Fidel Gonzales appears to have assumed the quarterback job.

He threw for 194 yards against Costa Mesa and has completed 21 of 42 for

348 yards and a touchdown on the season. But he has thrown five

interceptions, including four last week to account for most of the Lions’

six turnovers in a 41-0 loss to unbeaten Marina.

“They’ve played a pretty tough schedule, but they’ve done some good

things,” Freeman said of the Lions, who appear headed for a fifth

straight losing season.

Westminster’s offensive weapons also include Akilah Lacey and Hector

Colunga. Lacey, a junior receiver, has caught six passes for 170 yards

and one touchdown the last two weeks, while Colunga, a senior tight end,

has 10 catches for 176 yards and a TD this season.

Colunga had four catches for 115 yards, including a 72-yard TD, in a

21-14 victory over CdM last fall.

Hacker now has 375 rushing yards for CdM, which appears to have

settled on junior Dylan Hendy at quarterback.

Hendy, who battled fellow junior Joe Barber the first three weeks,

took every snap against Saddleback. He has 18 completions for 250 yards

in 37 attempts, with three TDs and five interceptions.

Junior Steven Ward and senior speedster Matt Moore lead a balanced CdM

receiving corps. Ward has seven catches for 85 yards and one TD, while

Moore has 194 yards and two TDs on six catches.

Hacker, Eric Snell and Alshuler have also combined for 14 catches to

help the Sea Kings nearly balance their offensive books with 487 yards

rushing and 448 passing.

Defensively, the linebacking corps of Hacker, Nick Prosser and Taumata

Grey have played well, as has Alshuler.

Snell, a senior returning starter at safety who sat out last week with

a sprained ankle, is scheduled to see limited duty in the Sea Kings’

final PCL tuneup.