Red-zone defense keys CdM win over rival Newport Harbor
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A timely drive provided all that Corona del Mar’s stingy defense would need to bring home a 16-6 win over Newport Harbor Thursday in the crosstown Battle of the Bay football game at Davidson Field.
After the first of three red-zone stops, the Sea Kings — leading by a mere field goal — were set to take the slim advantage into the locker room. A third-down pass interference penalty charted a new course.
John David Annett, making his first career start, followed with a 22-yard completion to Tucker Murray, then connected twice with JJ Haley, the second caught by the leaping 6-foot-3 receiver for a 24-yard touchdown with 14 seconds remaining before halftime.
“We said, ‘We’re going to run the ball, if we pop a first down, then we’ll get it moving,’” CdM coach Kevin Hettig said of the Sea Kings covering 80 yards in 79 seconds. “We got it moving. We let JD go a little bit, and he did a really good job navigating that drive. It’s never a bad decision to throw the ball up in the air to JJ Haley.”
The Battle of the Bay establishes bragging rights in Newport Beach, but Annett, a junior, now has some within his family. Kaleb Annett, a redshirt sophomore at the University of Central Florida, and Brady Annett, a freshman at Eastern Washington, also started at quarterback for Corona del Mar.
On a night of limited possessions, their younger brother threw for 152 yards and did not commit a turnover.
“My brothers both lost this game, so I’m so excited to win this, get back and tell them,” he said.
Corona del Mar (4-0) came into the contest averaging 37.3 points per game, but its defense has provided an enviable level of consistency. No opponent has had more than one scoring play in any game this season.
Backed up against their goal line with the Sailors twice reaching their 1-yard line, the Sea Kings did not budge.
Newport Harbor (2-2) had marched 80 yards from its own 19-yard line, when a false start marked the beginning of the end of a promising 16-play drive that took more than eight minutes. The Sailors took two holding penalties within the series of downs, which saw a goal-to-go situation turn into a missed 30-yard field goal.
“I thought we ran the ball pretty well early, then we got down there and we couldn’t put it in, so that’s unfortunate,” Newport Harbor coach Matt Burns said. “I go back to taking the field goal in the beginning, maybe we should have gone for it. I wanted to tie it up. Great kick, just a little bit left, so that kind of changed the course of the game.
“Then really, the score they had before half, they drove down, got that score right before halftime, that was kind of the crushing blow.”
Trejan Nixon, who had a game-high 93 rushing yards, punched in a 2-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, extending the CdM edge to 16-0.
From there, the Sea Kings’ pass rush enforced its will, with Arshan Habibi, Troy Merriman, Kingston Osbrink and Cason Yarnall factoring in sacks.
“Our guys on the back end hold up really well,” Hettig said of the secondary’s role in allowing the defensive front to play aggressively. “[Nate] Rothman’s pick there at the end of the game, kind of overcame some adversity and made a great one there to kind of ice it.”
Hettig gave the defense a pass on penalties that saw the Sailors move down the field, remarking that one saved a touchdown and referring to others as “effort plays.”
“The great part of what our defense did tonight is they can’t control what flags the referees are going to throw over and over again, and they were able to be above that and just bear down and play football, and not let that affect them,” he said. “I love the way they played tonight. I thought they played really hard.”
Newport Harbor found itself on the doorstep of a score once again, when Zack Cox separated Jackson Stremick from the ball on a sweep run to the left. Murray recovered the fumble at the 1-yard line.
“Our defense, we knew it from day one, we were going to be a special group,” Merriman said. “I’m so proud of our [defensive] line. The ‘Slick Seven.’ We have seven defensive linemen that I would trust any Friday night.
“The defense as a unit, we’re the ‘Dirty Dozen.’ We play like there’s 12 out there. We all rally. I love all these boys. We got some special players, and we’re going to have a really good year.”
Jordan Spigarelli, Newport Harbor’s senior quarterback, produced 150 total yards, including 52 yards on seven carries to lead the team in rushing.
Ryder Godbold and Jett Blauwkamp each registered a sack, and Theo McFarland made two tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Stremick ended the shutout with a 39-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but Rothman’s interception in the end zone with 4:17 remaining ended the comeback bid.
“We’re going to play for four quarters every game, and that’s what everyone can expect the rest of the year,” Stremick said. “We’re not going to ever give up and play 100% every single snap.”
Nonleague
Corona del Mar 16, Newport Harbor 6
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Corona del Mar 3 - 7 - 6 - 0 — 16
Newport Harbor 0 - 0 - 0 - 6 — 6
FIRST QUARTER
CdM — Naylor 39 FG, 3:43.
SECOND QUARTER
CdM — Haley 24 pass from Annett (Naylor kick), 0:14.
THIRD QUARTER
CdM — Nixon 2 run (Naylor kick failed), 7:05.
FOURTH QUARTER
NH — Stremick 39 punt return (Spigarelli pass failed), 9:59.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
CdM — Nixon, 20-93, 1 TD; Perisi, 5-19; Annett, 3-12; Team, 4-(-19).
NH — Spigarelli, 7-52; Tena, 5-21; Yamakawa, 7-20; Stremick, 2-1; Godbold, 1-0; Team, 4-(-24).
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
CdM — Annett, 15-18-0, 152, 1 TD.
NH — Spigarelli, 12-20-1, 98; Leyva, 0-1-0, 0.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
CdM — Haley, 5-71, 1 TD; Murray, 2-42; Scott, 2-18; Nixon, 2-15; Paolone, 2-6; Perisi, 2-0.
NH — McKibbin, 3-40; Stremick, 7-39; Palmer, 2-19.
