Hands could make the difference

When Corona del Mar High played South El Monte, the yellow flags that peppered the field were so often followed by a holding penalty that by the end of the game, no Las Vegas casino would have been willing to hedge a bet that the call would be anything else.

Astonishingly enough, the Sea Kings won the Sept. 28 game anyway, 22-14.

Tonight at 7 at Newport Harbor, CdM (3-4, 1-0 in the Pacific Coast League) faces Laguna Hills (3-2), ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, and Coach Dick Freeman thinks the teams are fairly evenly matched. This mean the outcome may be decided by which team makes the fewest mistakes, he said. For CdM, that means minimizing holding penalties, among others.

“I told them not to do it anymore, but I don’t know if that will work,” Freeman said. “An offensive line holding a guy is part of the effort. I really don’t think a lot of the time it’s a conscious grab and tackle. It may just be part of a good block. It’s almost like a wrestling match.”

CdM allowed the fewest points it’s given up all year against Beckman, by limiting tailback D’Amato Tyson to less than 75 yards.

CdM hasn’t allowed too many gains up the middle, so they’ll still try to prevent the Hawks from getting to the outside.

“We’ve done a pretty good job against the run all year long,” Freeman said.

As for the passing game, senior quarterback Ryan Wertenberger is fairly similar to CdM quarterback Hunter Alder.

“They run a few different patterns, and he’s slightly more mobile,” Freeman said.

The Sea Kings allowed Beckman quarterback Sebastian Vollaerts to complete six of 11 passes for 71 yards, and picked him off twice. The defense recorded five sacks, including one by Max Haase, who forced a fumble, which he recovered. Haase had an interception as well.

This will be the Pacific Coast League opener for Laguna Hills, while the Sea Kings are coming off a league-opening 22-3 win over Beckman.

Both teams lost to El Toro. CdM fell, 20-17, while Laguna lost to El Toro, 31-28.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at [email protected].