Corona del Mar football shuts down Villa Park, stays undefeated
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ORANGE — A young secondary for the Corona del Mar High football team continues to prove that it’s more than up for the challenge.
The latest proof came Friday night, against a Villa Park squad that came in averaging nearly 60 points per game.
The Sea Kings got the best of the Bravo League opener in a battle of unbeaten teams, not conceding a touchdown until the fourth quarter in their 24-10 win at Fred Kelly Stadium.
CdM is now 6-0, and is averaging just 9.5 points allowed per contest. Villa Park fell to 5-1.
“We have a lot of talent,” said sophomore defensive back Nate Rothman, who had a third quarter interception for the Sea Kings. “We’ve got a young secondary, so guys rising to the occasion is one of the big things. We play disciplined. We don’t get excited, we don’t get down on stuff. We’re present and we play strong.”
CdM senior two-way standout Tucker Murray (leg) was a late scratch on Friday night, but others stepped up to fill that gap. Rothman and coach Kevin Hettig credited junior Henry Birchard for leading the secondary, while another two-way standout, junior Nolan Scott, went back to play some at safety.
Scott’s second quarter interception was negated due to a penalty.
Seniors Hudson Zinone and James Warren also provided standout secondary play for the Sea Kings, who had a first-quarter fumble recovery from senior defensive lineman Troy Merriman.
Twice, the Sea Kings stopped the Spartans on fourth-and-one, including a Scott stuff of running back Coy Collins from the CdM 11-yard-line midway through the fourth quarter that preserved CdM’s two-score advantage.
“I just think we played disciplined, we played hard football, and that’s what we’ve got to do,” Rothman said. “Big shout out to Henry Birchard for leading us, stepping up to the occasion.”
CdM, coming off its bye, led 17-3 at halftime. The visitors got a pair of touchdown runs by Trejan Nixon and a 45-yard field goal by Mateo Akerman on the final play of the half.
Nixon’s second touchdown scamper was electric, a 64-yard burst up the middle.
“Our kids played really tough,” CdM coach Kevin Hettig said. “That offensive line, it’s a young group. There’s four juniors in that group, and they’re starting to get their feet under them a little bit. We were able to run the ball tonight, and when we had to throw it, JD [Annett] did an excellent job throwing it. We hit a couple of good screens, and that was it.”
The Sea Kings went on a 15-play, 80-yard drive coming out of the locker room to start the second half. Scott capped it with a 1-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation, and CdM suddenly had a dominant 24-3 lead.
Villa Park, playing its homecoming game, scored its only touchdown on a 5-yard run by Collins in the fourth quarter. The drive was aided by three of CdM’s four penalties in the game, including two pass interference calls and a personal foul.
Corona del Mar hosts Tustin on Friday at Davidson Field in continued Bravo League action. The Tillers (4-2) lost 21-7 to Crean Lutheran in their league opener.
“Wins are hard to come by in the Bravo League, and we understand that,” Hettig said. “We know that, so yeah, it was a big one tonight.”
Bravo League
Corona del Mar 24, Villa Park 10
SCORE BY QUARTERS
CdM 0 - 17 - 7 - 10 — 24
VP 0 - 3 - 0 - 0 — 10
FIRST QUARTER
None.
SECOND QUARTER
CdM — Nixon 4 run (Naylor kick), 10:27.
VP — Lang 55 FG, 6:36.
CdM — Nixon 64 run (Naylor kick), 5:18.
CdM — Akerman 45 FG, 0:00.
THIRD QUARTER
CdM — Scott 1 run (Naylor kick), 6:29.
FOURTH QUARTER
VP — Collins 5 run (Lang kick), 11:48.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
CdM — Nixon, 13-87, 2 TDs; Kucera, 12-26.
VP — Collins, 27-104, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
CdM — Annett, 14-23-0, 168.
VP — Tichenal, 13-24-1, 103; Hannah, 1-1-0, 39.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
CdM — Kuchera, 4-46; Scott, 4-42; Nixon, 2-34; Haley, 2-29.
VP — Hannah, 5-49; Hedrick, 4-44.
