CdM back in title game
The cliché in high school football is that it’s a privilege to practice on Thanksgiving.
Practicing into December, then, must be considered an embarrassment of riches.
That’s what the Corona del Mar High football team did Thursday afternoon for the first time since winning the CIF State Division III title three years ago. The No. 3-seeded Sea Kings hit the road for the CIF Southern Section Division 4 title game against top-seeded Chatsworth Sierra Canyon on Friday night at 7 at Granada Hills Charter High.
The stadium there is called John Elway Stadium, as the NFL Hall of Famer played two seasons at quarterback for Granada Hills. CdM (12-1) has its own star quarterback in Cal-bound senior Chase Garbers, who comes into Friday night’s game with 3,699 passing yards, 46 touchdowns and five interceptions this season.
The weather conditions for Garbers and the CdM passing game could be interesting on Friday night, as forecasts say winds could gust in Granada Hills at up to 40 miles per hour. Garbers, though, shrugged it off.
“[I’m going to] just keep throwing balls how I do,” Garbers said. “The wind’s not going to affect us in the pass game or in the run game. Honestly, wind is wind, and I’ve played in wind before. It’s going to be fine.”
Garbers and the Sea Kings have reason to be confident. They made it to the title game after a pair of one-point victories, winning at Ontario Colony, 49-48, before coming back from an 18-point second-half deficit to stun No. 2-seeded Lompoc, 35-34, last Friday night at Jim Scott Stadium.
Corona del Mar, averaging 44.3 points per game this season, has shown that it can light up the scoreboard with its dynamic passing attack also featuring junior receiver TaeVeon Le (73 catches for 1,241 yards and 22 touchdowns) and senior Reece Perez. But senior receiver Billy Shaw, who has 697 yards receiving and eight touchdown catches, might miss his third straight game due to a fibula injury. CdM Coach Dan O’Shea said that Shaw is questionable.
What O’Shea doesn’t question is the talent of freshman receiver John Humphreys, who stepped up for eight catches for 93 yards against Lompoc, including the go-ahead touchdown with 45 seconds to play. Even more impressive to O’Shea might have been Humphreys’ blocking.
“In the most physical game that we played the entire year, he made three of the most crushing hits on their best players,” O’Shea said. “I mean, he’s a freak. I know he has a little “FR” next to his name [for ‘freshman’], but when you think of John Humphreys, he’s a junior or a senior. He plays like it, and he acts like it.”
Defensively, the Sea Kings will try to slow undefeated Sierra Canyon (13-0), which earned a 42-19 victory over Covina Charter Oak in the semifinals. The Trailblazers like to run the ball and are led on offense by senior tailback Bobby Cole, who has 1,903 yards rushing and 28 touchdowns this season. As a junior, he totaled 2,468 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns.
But the Sea Kings have had success stopping the run lately, senior middle linebacker Mickey Quinn said.
“We’ve had some great run stops against some unbelievable backs the last two weeks with our 4-4-3 [stack] defense,” said Quinn, who leads CdM with 92 tackles.
Sierra Canyon right tackle Kanan Ray, who is headed to UCLA, is an All-American. Offensive lineman Chris Cannon also leads the team with 18 sacks from the defensive end position.
The Trailblazers have been here before, as they were the CIF Southern Section Mid-Valley Division champions a year ago. But for CdM’s senior class, this also has been a long time coming.
“It’s a huge thing to be in a championship game, especially as seniors,” Garbers said. “A few of us were pulled up as freshmen to witness the state title, so it’s just a great feeling ... Our goal was to practice and play into December, which we’ve accomplished here. Hopefully we can accomplish more after [Friday].”
The senior class is a close one for CdM. The Sea Kings have 12 senior captains, O’Shea said, and they have been working hard ever since the Sea Kings lost to Buena Park last year in the Southwest Division quarterfinals.
“Their journey started 51 weeks ago after Buena Park, and I’m not sure that you’ll find a more excited group in that the journey was worth it, the process was worth it,” O’Shea said. “They’re looking forward to Friday night.
“At this stage, all the teams are really, really good. When we were challenged the most [last week against Lompoc], we responded the best [by rallying from an 18-point deficit]. That’s something that just creates a lot of energy and excitement, and you hope to build on it as you go forward this week and beyond.”
Friday night’s title game will be streamed online on Fox Sports Prep Zone. A win could put CdM in a CIF State regional game next week.
