Sea Kings’ progress is on hold

Barry Faulkner

With three two-way senior standouts relegated to the ranks of the

walking wounded, a designation that already included eight other

players in street clothes, Corona del Mar High’s 14-12 nonleague

football loss to Cypress Friday at Newport Harbor High becomes less

mysterious.

But the Sea Kings’ second straight defeat, which evened their

record at 2-2 heading into Friday’s final preleague tuneup against an

impressive 3-1 La Habra squad, could not be completely explained away

by personnel problems.

Senior safety K.C. Rawlins, who has also played some receiver and

is the team’s place-kicker, did not play with a groin injury that

figures to sideline him again this week.

Senior linebacker-fullback Matt Cooper was sidelined with an ankle

sprain suffered in the Week 3 loss to Newport Harbor, though he could

return this week.

Senior Keith Long, who started at fullback in place of Cooper and

had been rotating at tailback, while also playing outside linebacker

on defense, was sidelined early in the first quarter against the

Centurions. CdM Coach Dick Freeman said Long landed on his head and

hyper-extended his back. Long was helped off after being administered

to on the field for about five minutes Friday and was later

transported to Hoag Hospital, where an examination revealed no

structural damage. But having strained muscles and ligaments, Freeman

said Long is almost certainly out for another week.

But Freeman said the offense’s inability to improve is the primary

concern, after being outgained, 230-222, by a Cypress unit the Sea

Kings were expected to handle.

“We’re doing some things better on offense, but, as a team, we’re

not getting done some of the things we need to get done,” Freeman

said. “We’re doing well in certain areas, but we need to focus more

on the total package.”

CdM fumbled on four separate first-half possessions, two of which

Cypress recovered, and two other Sea King drives before halftime were

sabotaged by costly penalties, one of which negated a 20-yard pass

completion to the Cypress 5-yard line.

CdM managed to overcome one of the fumbles, an errant center snap

in shotgun formation that resulted in a 20-yard loss, when senior

quarterback Jonathan Hubbard hit Kevin Welch on a 45-yard touchdown

pass 20 seconds before halftime to pull to within 7-6.

The Sea Kings cashed in a costly defensive holding penalty on its

eight-play, 66-yard touchdown drive on their first possession of the

second half to claim a 12-7 lead. But the two-point conversion pass

was ruled incomplete and CdM’s offense never regained its

effectiveness.

“If we had come up and done something, offensively, after we

scored to take the lead, maybe gotten a couple first downs, it really

would have helped us,” Freeman said.

Instead, two three-and-outs followed for CdM and Cypress went 54

yards on nine plays after the second, aided by a key third-down pass

interference call, to claim the lead and the victory.

Freeman praised the efforts of linebackers Matt Warsaw, a senior,

and Tyler Lance, a sophomore, both of whom, he said, will continue to

collect playing time, even when the injured linebackers return.