CdM’s very own junior varsity football team took on University last Friday in their third league game. CdM started out slow, only scoring two points in the first half against University High school. But, the score quickly changed as CdM put up another 28 points to beat the Trojans 30-0.

Corona del Mar’s defense was once again shutdown against University, allowing only a few first downs and only a few good runs. As for the offense, once the ball was put into the red zone, it would stop and University would quickly gain possession.

“It was really frustrating. We would drive it all the way down the field, but we could never score,” stated junior Brian Smith. This would all change for CdM as they entered the second half with the ball. On their second possession, Corona drove the ball 65 yards down the field, with the drive resulting in a touchdown pass to sophomore Matt English. With another quick stop for the CdM defense, the offense got the ball back on University’s 30 yard line. In two plays, both being the same, Erik Fisher ran the ball for another CdM touchdown.

Kevin Kitzens would quickly add to the CdM score as he also ran the ball into the endzone against the dwindling University defense. CdM’s offense had finally found its groove, scoring 21 points in the third and fourth quarter. As the final minutes on the clock counted down, the CdM defense took the field against University on the 40 yard line. As soon as University got the ball, they gave it up. A pass over the middle was intercepted by linebacker Jack Kanen who ran it back for thirty yards before fumbling. Luckily, the ball was recovered by corner Kyle Sherburne who ran the ball for another six points. Kicker Grant Garret put up the kick to make the final score of the game 30-0.

With a score of 13-6, the Corona del Mar junior varsity remain undefeated and set themselves up for a second league championship in two years. CdM has played well this year, keeping opponents to less than ten points a game this season. The highlight of the season for the JV team was beating Newport Harbor 7-0 in a close win.

Last week on Friday, CdM took on Irvine, a very well coached team with some talent. “Their running backs on both the varsity and junior varsity levels are very good and it takes about two to three people to tackle them,” said junior Aaron Vasquez.

The CdM defense has been playing very well the entire season, especially against Irvine, allowing no touchdowns, and only two field goals. Irvine struck first against CdM, kicking a 30 yard field goal to go ahead 3-0. Irvine followed in Corona’s footsteps by playing good defense while CdM had the ball. On CdM’s second possession, sophomore Grant Garret kicked a 25 yard field goal to tie up the game. Irvine would get the lead with another field goal, until CdM’s Grant Garret put away yet another 35 yard field goal to tie up the game yet again.

Entering the third quarter tied, CdM came out fired up, ready to take the lead. With the ball on the 40 yard line, CdM marched down the field to the 20 yard line. With Erik Fisher in the backfield, CdM called the same play twice, a counter to the left, to score and go ahead 13-6. The defense stayed strong as they held Irvine for yet another half, this time not allowing them to score at all.

After getting shutout the night before on the varsity level, the CdM Jv team of 24 players traveled to Laguna Hills to get revenge. When the kings left CdM, it was about 75 degrees, the ideal temperature to play in for any sport. But, when the kings arrived at Laguna Hills high school, it was a scorching 88 degrees. The game began with a kickoff return for CdM, after captains Preston Risser and Mitch Gardner won the toss.

The Kings opened up with a long drive, with big plays from Erik Fisher. Fisher took the ball overtime from the 25 yard line all the way down to the 5 yard line, where the kings were stopped, due to a bad snap. The defense, however, would shutdown the Laguna Hills offense for two quarters. The defense allowed only a few first downs, and stuffed the inside run, forcing Laguna Hills to try and throw the ball. Defensive backs Fraiser Anderson and Kyle Sherburne both provided lockdown protection on the wide receivers, while Aaron Vasquez, Andre Busto, and Braden Granard provided pressure on the quarterback.

CdM scored in their third possession, late in the first quarter. On the ten yard line, quarterback Mitch Gardner handed the ball off to running back Erik Fisher, who bounced it outside and past the secondary protection for a Sea Kings touchdown.

The Hawks made their score late in the third quarter, with a pass for 15 yards into the back of the end zone. The Laguna Hills had good field position against the Sea Kings, which allowed them to drive into the end zone with a quick couple of plays. Despite the score, the defense remained at the top of their game, shutting down the Hawks for the rest of the game. The offense had big mistakes to which the Hawks defense capitalized on. Snaps were off and blitzes by the defense caused sacks and rushed the quarterback.

Players of the game for CdM were Frasier Anderson and Josh Giger. CdM enters their second league game against Irvine on Friday with a 5-0-1 record. The game is on Friday, at Irvine. Go Sea Kings!

CdM started slow without scoring a touchdown for the entire first quarter, when it seemed it would be an easy game for them. “We came out expecting a win to be handed over to us on a silver platter, and we got surprised when we got scored on,” said Junior captain Preston Risser. Although Segerstrom high came out and quickly scored a touchdown, CdM fought back in the last three quarters of the game to win 42-7.

In the first quarter, CdM started with the ball. In a quick one-two-three series for the offense, the ball was punted to Segerstrom. Both sides were shut down until Segerstrom broke free with a 40 yard run by their tailback. This would be the last time Segerstrom would score. “The defense really picked it up after letting them score a touchdown,” said Junior Braden Granard. In the beginning of the second quarter, CdM’s running back Eric Fisher put six up on the board for CdM by running the football 35 yards. Along with another touchdown by Fisher, Kevin Kitzens and Josh Giger would also score to make the score 21-7.

After the break at halftime, CdM came out relentless and scored another 21 points, some with the help of the defense. A punt was blocked on the 15 yard line by Jack Kanen who was quickly tackled when he tried to run it in for a touchdown. It took the offense one play to score, with a run by Kevin Kitzens. All of the smack talk that the Segerstrom players had been talking at the beginning of the game was quickly coming to an end as they realized the game was out of reach for them.

As well as getting the win, the team was also to welcome a new player to team, senior Steven Sheldon. Steven is a transfer from Mater Dei who has just been granted the rights to play on the Varsity squad. This was a warm up game for Sheldon, who had a big hit on the Segerstrom quaterback. “It felt really good to get back out there and be able to hit other guys that aren’t on your own team,” said Sheldon.