Producing some early dividends

Barry Faulkner

In a sport where the emotional ledger is both a going concern and

a product of past experiences, the Corona del Mar High football team

benefited from a sizable psychological withdrawal, while also leaving

a substantial deposit for the future Friday night.

In rallying from a 12-0 fourth-quarter deficit to claim a 21-12

nonleague victory over Troy at Fullerton High, Coach Dick Freeman’s

Sea Kings managed to avenge last year’s disappointing dealings with

the Warriors.

CdM players also banked the knowledge they can come through in the

clutch against a solid, well-coached unit, in unfamiliar territory.

Addressing the first point, Freeman said last year’s 34-34 tie

with the Warriors, in which Troy scored 21 fourth-quarter points to

salvage the stalemate, as well as Troy being selected over CdM as the

lone at-large entry into the CIF Southern Section Division IX

Playoffs last year, fueled motivational fires at halftime Friday.

“The fact that they kept us out of the playoffs last year was on

our minds and (us coaches) mentioned it at halftime,” Freeman said.

“We asked our guys if they wanted that to happen again.”

The Sea Kings’ response was revealed by two quarters of determined

football, leading to a 2-0 record and the program’s best start since

1996.

And while payback can be especially satisfying, Freeman believes

the positives created by Friday’s comeback win could create

potentially happy returns all season.

“It’s one thing to tell guys they can do something,” Freeman said.

“Having them actually do it is a completely different thing. They’ve

seen what can happen when they keep at it and keep competing through

four quarters. If we get in a similar situation, we can point back to

this and make sure they remember what they’re capable of.”

Freeman said Friday’s second-half surge is also a justification of

the hard work his players have put into conditioning.

“I don’t think we’ve conditioned any more than in past years, but

this group might have gotten more out of it,” Freeman said. “If we

run 20 sprints, we run 20 hard ones. And, hopefully, winning the way

we did Friday will help that continue.”

Through two games, there is much Freeman hopes his team will

continue, including an effective run game and a sound and aggressive

defense.

He is, however, concerned by a lack of production in the passing

game, which included only 22 yards and four completions in nine

attempts against Troy. CdM has now completed 10 of 19 for 109 yards and three TDs for the season, with one interception.

“We have not gotten done what we need to get done throwing the

football,” Freeman said. “Completing one pass for 15 yards isn’t

going to impress any defensive coordinators, or make them stop

stacking the line of scrimmage (to stop the run). I don’t know what

the answer is, but I feel like we can turn that around.”

Freeman said senior John Daley, a three-year starter on the

offensive line who is also starting at defensive end this fall, has

been a huge addition to the defense.

Sophomore cornerback Wess Presson sustained a concussion early in

Friday’s game and Freeman said his status for Friday’s Battle of the

Bay against host Newport Harbor will be evaluated this week.