Daily Pilot High School Football Player of the Week

In one hand, Alex Swigert held his football team pictures. They weren’t how he expected them to turn out in his senior year at Corona del Mar High.

As a sophomore, Swigert pictured himself playing on one side of the ball. He wanted to run with the ball for the next three years. Nothing else mattered.

Unafraid, Swigert let teammates and even coaches know how he felt. During a practice that year, a defensive backs coach called him out.

“I was kind of goofing around, as a sophomore, I was kind of full of myself,” Swigert said. “My coach told me to leave and not to come back to the practice at DB. I was like, ‘Whatever. I don’t play defense anyway.’ ”

The next day, Swigert chose another defensive group to work out with at practice. He had to pick one. At 170 pounds, the line was even an option.

The only reason Swigert went with the linebackers was due to the attitude of the coach in charge.

“I picked the most enthusiastic coach we had,” said Swigert, who was still only interested in playing running back. “[The linebacker position] didn’t matter to me. At the time, it was just to get through practice and have fun.”

Swigert has looked forward to playing defense ever since.

No longer is he cocky. Swigert’s play on the field as an inside linebacker speaks volumes.

The Sea Kings’ defense is becoming one of the stingiest this year and Swigert’s a big reason why. CdM recorded its first shutout of the season last week in a 27-0 nonleague victory against Magnolia at Newport Harbor High.

Two reasons why it was a necessary win. It was homecoming and the next game after CdM suffered its first loss of the season.

As the Sea Kings (4-1) enjoy a bye week to recover and prepare for the Pacific Coast League showdown with defending champion Laguna Hills on Oct. 15, Swigert assessed the team’s progress five games into the season.

“I see moments of greatness,” Swigert said. “But we haven’t been able to put four quarters of football together.”

The Sea Kings have collectively played well in spurts. The one setback, a 37-7 loss to rival Newport Harbor in the Battle of Bay, isn’t one game Swigert talks about.

At midseason, CdM is the No. 4-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll. The team is off to its second straight 4-1 start under Coach Jason Hitchens.

To Swigert, that’s where the comparisons end between this year’s team and last year’s. The Sea Kings last season reached the semifinals, their first since 1995.

CdM went into this year with two returning starters off last year’s defense. Swigert and safety J.D. Abbott are the lone two.

“I would say it’s a different team,” said Swigert, who earned All-CIF honors last year. “I wouldn’t say [we’re] better, we had a different mentality [last year]. This year we don’t know how good we are yet. We know we have the potential. We’ve seen it, but we haven’t played to our full potential yet.

“Last year, we would come out firing.”

CdM isn’t one-dimensional. Neither is Swigert.

The once offensive-oriented sophomore still gets his touches out of the backfield. He’s a lot bigger now, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, and it has affected his speed.

Twice last week Swigert showed signs of his sprinting days. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Swigert went left, broke a tackle, and raced down the CdM sideline for a 58-yard touchdown run.

Swigert also scored on a 38-yard run in the fourth quarter, finishing with 104 yards on eight carries. The starting running back, Abbott, carried the ball nine times for 163 yards and one touchdown.

The two have come a long ways from their first year at CdM.

“I’m proud of Alex,” Abbott said. “Our freshman year, he was the offensive guy and I was the defensive guy. We sort of have reversed roles.”

Swigert is happy it happened. The football team pictures in his hand are proof.