Tesoro strikes down Sea Kings

Sea Kings vs. Tesoro gamer for Sat.Host Titans score three touchdowns within span of 1:48 late in first half to seize control of Pacific Coast League contest.LAS FLORES -- Though it had nearly double the amount of players in uniform, the Tesoro High football team showed during the decisive second-quarter stretch against visiting Corona del Mar Friday that quality can matter more than quantity.

The Titans (5-1, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division IX, scored three times in five offensive plays in a 20-point, second-quarter surge that fueled a 32-10 Pacific Coast League win.

The quick strikes by the hosts, within a span of 1 minute, 48 seconds on the clock, came not long after the Sea Kings (3-4, 1-2) used 18 plays to consume 8:22, before Charlie Albright kicked a 32-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the half.

CdM got five of its six first-half first downs during the possession, but couldn’t get beyond the Teroso 14-yard line, after beginning at its own 20.

Tesoro, which claimed a 9-0 first-quarter lead, had the ball for just 65 seconds of the second quarter, before taking over at its own 46 with 2:22 left in the period after a CdM punt.

The defending league and CIF Division IX champions needed just two plays to find the end zone, as quarterback Todd Sciacqua hit senior Scott McKnight for a 25-yard scoring pass with 2:08 left in the quarter.

A failed two-point conversion pass kept the score at 15-3, Tesoro.

Three plays into the ensuing possession, McKnight picked off a pass and returned it 42 yards to the CdM 16.

On the next play, Tesoro’s Sean Calcagnie sprinted around the right side for another TD.

A conversion kick by senior Joe Robles, who also had field goals of 34 and 52 yards, the latter a school record, made it 22-3.

After CdM went three-and-out, Tesoro needed two plays to cover 59 yards for yet another touchdown, as Josh Mitchell hauled in another Sciacqua pass for a 50-yard score with 20 seconds left in the half.

Tesoro’s other first-half touchdown was another two-play drive, as Mitchell capped a 22-yard scoring sequence with a juggling catch of a 14-yard pass. That TD, with 1:21 left in the first quarter, cashed in a Jordan Woolbright interception.

Trailing, 32-3, CdM senior cornerback Steve Hillgren returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown with 4:21 left in the game.

CdM Coach Dick Freeman said a penalty may have been the turning point for his team.

A CdM holding call negated a 55-yard Shaun Mohler pass to Avery Fenton to the Tesoro 25 with Tesoro leading, 9-3.

“We go from moving toward taking a 10-9 lead to our own 10-yard line,� Freeman said.

Tesoro Coach Jim O’Connell said the Titans have shown similar offensive explosiveness this season.

“When we’re hooking things up like that, we’re pretty good,� O’Connell said.

CdM, which had 37 players in uniform to the Titans’ 70, had just two first downs and 72 yards after halftime.

Tesoro is bound for the South Coast League next season.

Tesoro 32, CdM 10

SCORE BY QUARTERS