Prep football: Sea Kings, Hacker pour it on

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Since opening the season 0-3, all things seem to

have become possible for the Corona del Mar High football team.

Assaulting the school record book? No problem.

A four-game winning streak? What’s all the fuss.

A Pacific Coast League title? Check back in a couple weeks.

“We feel like we can do anything,” said CdM senior offensive tackle

Dave Richardson, after a 56-27 PCL home victory over Northwood which

emphatically proved his point Thursday at Newport Harbor High. “Nothing

seems to faze us.”

Senior tailback Blake Hacker, who rushed for a school single-game

record 289 yards on 40 carries, was even a little disappointed in the

afterglow of his prolific performance.

“We talked today as a team and we thought I could go for 300 (rushing

yards),” Hacker said. “We wanted to break some school records tonight.”

About what could be their second PCL crown in as many seasons since

leaving the Sea View League?

“We’ve got to stay humble,” Hacker said. “We still have to get

better.”

The 56 points tied the school record established in a shutout win over

Pacifica in 1968 and Jon-Luke Del Fante at least tied the school mark for

conversion kicks with eight.

Hacker’s record, which included 151 yards in the first quarter and 235

by halftime, broke Brian Hogan’s 278-yard performance in the 1994 season

opener, a 35-28 loss to Edison. This, despite sitting out the final eight

minutes, and touching the ball only once the first six-plus minutes of

the second quarter.

There was, indeed, plenty to celebrate for the hosts (4-3, 2-0 in

league), who took sole possession of first place, with fellow unbeatens

Estancia and University squaring off tonight.

But Northwood (2-5, 0-2), playing its first varsity season without any

seniors, put a quick hold on CdM’s early euphoria, storming back with

three second-quarter touchdowns after the Sea Kings forded a 21-0 lead

two plays into the period.

Northwood, however, was forced to punt on three of its first seven

possessions and CdM turned all three into TD processions.

The Sea Kings, who amassed 509 yards on 60 offensive snaps, scored on

their first three possessions and six of their first seven. Only an

interception midway through the second quarter kept them out of paydirt.

But the visitors tallied 21 points in less than five minutes to close

to within 28-21, before CdM added a TD to take a 14-point halftime edge.

CdM, which got an 8-for-10 passing performance from junior quarterback

Joe Barber (for 162 yards and three TDs) then scored on its first

second-half possession.

The CdM defense then made four straight stops, including a Charlie

Alshuler interception, his fifth of the year, and a partially blocked

punt by Scott Biggs to help salt the victory away.

Mark Cianciulli scored on a 20-yard run on his first play after

subbing for Hacker with 7:59 left in the game. Then, after Biggs’s

blocked punt, Paul Jones picked up a fumble by a CdM running back and

covered the final 7 yards of the 16-yard gain to finalize the CdM

scoring.

Northwood, which dropped a 41-36 decision to Estancia last week,

scored on the final play of the game.

“(The Timberwolves) made it way too interesting,” Freeman said. “We

were doing OK for awhile, then, we couldn’t stop them in that first half.

That’s a good football team. We scored a lot of points tonight, but we

had to.”

Surging behind, sometimes even shielded by tackles Dave Richardson and

Steven Russell, guards Matt Marston and John Daley, center Adam Dunn,

tight end Tyler McClellan and fullback Matt Cooper, Hacker surpassed the

1,000-yard plateau for the season. With 867 yards and six TDs in four

straight wins, the 5-foot-6, 170-pound dynamo now has 1,033 yards. At

this rate, J.R. Walz’s single-season record 1,578 yards, set in 1993, is

jeopardy.

Senior speedster Matt Moore had five receptions for 110 yards,

including a 21-yard fade-stop route, and also returned three kickoffs for

80 yards, before Northwood went to a pooch kickoff.

Steven Ward caught a 22-yard scoring toss from Barber, who also

delivered a 7-yard connection to tight end Nick Prosser.

Cooper scored on his only carry to round out the CdM windfall.

Defensively, senior middle linebacker Taumata Grey spearheaded a group

that eventually chopped the Timberwolves down to size. Biggs also added

the game’s only sack.

Andy Meyer had 111 rushing yards for the visitors, largely compiled on

second-quarter TD bursts of 34 and 56 yards.

Aside from those two plays and two 21-yard passes, Northwood found

tough going offensively.

“This league (title) may come down to which team finds a defense

first,” Freeman said. “And we’re still looking. A lot of points have been

scored in this league, so far. It’s like the Sea View without the

defense.”