Sea Kings seek some inspiration

Emotion is one pool the Corona del Mar High football team will not be able to draw from this week, Coach Dick Freeman said.

After a mentally draining, 14-6, victory over Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, breaking a seven-game losing streak, the Sea Kings (2-2) will visit South El Monte (1-2) in a nonleague game at 7 tonight.

“It’s tough coming off that, we got really emotional for that game,” Freeman said. “We have to keep this up. We may not be as high emotionally this week. We can’t rely on emotion.”

What the Sea Kings can rely on is talent. Senior quarterback Taylor Hughes is coming off his best game, completing 13 of 19 passes without an interception. A week earlier, Hughes had his best statistical game, throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns.

On the season, Hughes has completed 48 of 79 passes for 891 yards and eight touchdowns with five interceptions.

Hughes is spreading the ball around, hitting 10 different receivers this season and he has connected with passes to a minimum of six players each game. Senior receiver Steven Hillgren leads the way with 11 catches for 228 yards and two touchdowns.

This week, more pressure will be put on the offensive line of 6-foot-7 senior left tackle John Joyce, junior left guard James McKennon, senior center Steven Dean, sophomore right guard Ben Noe and junior right tackle Max Prescott to hold protection because South El Monte uses press coverage and blitzes on a regular basis.

In the running game, the Sea Kings will look to junior Erik Rask and senior Will Brown to take the majority of the carries. Brown has carried the ball 33 times for 155 yards and a touchdown, while Rask has 25 carries for 146 yards.

Each of the runners brings something different to the Sea Kings ground attack which has gained 445 yards this season.

“We don’t have anybody who will carry the ball 30 times a game,” Freeman said. “We have two different style backs. It would be nice to have a big 235-pound running back other teams were scared of. Will Brown runs in all different directions at once and Erik Rask, he’s more smoother.”

The Sea Kings’ linebackers, including Rask, junior Kevin Rask, senior Austin Ray, senior Ford Noe and senior Tommy Folks will be key against a South El Monte team that put up 37 points in its last game against Whittier.

“They’re changing their offense week by week, it’s evolving into more of a spread option,” Freeman said.

Senior receiver Hunt Rychel, who caught four passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in Corona del Mar’s opener against Laguna Beach, will miss his second consecutive game after sustaining a concussion from a hit in the Sea Kings’ 34-24 loss to Troy, Freeman said. He will be reevaluated Monday.

Coming off the victory over Newport, and two games from the start of Pacific Coast League play, CdM is at a crossroads.

“We’ve had three pretty tough games in a row,” Freeman said. “We need to continue what we’re doing. We need to execute.”