Corona Del Mar Remains Unbeaten With Over Tustin, Moves to 2-0 in League

Newport Beach – The Corona Del Mar football team remained undefeated with a 28-14 win over Tustin on Friday at Davidson Field.

Despite staying tied for first place in the Bravo League, the Sea Kings needed to grind out the win against a determined Tillers squad who knew it could ill-afford to start 0-2 in league.

After a scoreless first quarter, Tustin got on the board after Rufai Azeez recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown at the Corona Del Mar 49 after the Corona Del Mar runner ran into his own lineman and lost the ball. The extra point was missed, making the Tillers’ lead 6-0.

The Sea Kings offense struggled to start the game, as their first first down didn’t come until the 8:36 of the second quarter. But that first down seemed to be the spark they needed.

They eventually scored on a Tucker Murray touchdown run to give them the lead at 7-6. Murray missed the previous game against Villa Park after taking a big hit against La Serna two weeks prior and was held out as a precaution. 

Three plays into Tustin’s next drive, it tried to run a reverse play, but the ball got away from the second recipient, as it was recovered by Dylan Nichols on the Tillers’ eight-yard line.

Corona Del Mar ran a trick play, as Nolan Scott was in wildcat formation, but instead of running it in, he found Will Ingham open for a touchdown, making the score 14-6, which eventually was the halftime score.

Tustin’s offense struggled to move the ball in the second half, as it got untimely penalties and the Sea Kings’ defense either forced turnovers or prevented the offense from gaining positive plays. Corona Del Mar’s Troy Merriman recovered a fumble and his team eventually cashed in on it, as JD Annett found Chase Kuchera for his first touchdown of the season on a 27-yard catch and run.

On the Tillers’ next drive, Max Bringel intercepted a pass to give Corona Del Mar the ball back again. The Sea Kings eventually got into the red zone where Scott was in wildcat formation where he ran it in for a touchdown from two yards out.

Tustin eventually scored late as Hayden Koo ran it in for a touchdown from seven yards out and Steele Holcomb ran it in on the two-point conversion, but the game had already been decided, as Corona Del Mar moved to 7-0 for the second straight year and being one of six undefeated teams from Orange County.

The Sea Kings are back in action Friday when they play at Capo Valley at 7 p.m. The Cougars, currently at 6-1 overall and 1-1 in league, suffered their first loss of the season, losing to Crean Lutheran 30-22.