Corona del Mar Moves to 2-0 with Dominant Win over Santa Barbara, Final 37-3

This time it didn’t come down to the wire, this time it wasn’t a one-score game and this time, a comeback wasn’t needed.

The Corona Del Mar football team put together a second straight all-around performance, as they beat Santa Barbara 37-7 on Friday at Davidson Field in the home opener for the Sea Kings.

Despite the Dons getting to the red zone on its opening drive, the Corona Del Mar’s defense forced a turnover on downs to get the offense the ball. On the Sea Kings’ first offensive drive, they utilized the run game perfectly with Trejan Nixon leading the way, as he capped off the drive with a 16-yard rushing touchdown to give the hosts, despite missing the extra point.

Santa Barbara got all the way to the Corona Del Mar 29, but after a big sack at the end of the opening quarter, it was forced to punt. On the punt, Tucker Murray took the punt 84 yards to the house for the score, extending the Sea Kings’ lead to 13-0.

The Dons’ struggled to find success offensively, while the Sea Kings scored on almost every drive in the first half, which included a 23-yard field goal on the following drive from Chuck Nailor. The lone drive that the Corona Del Mar didn’t score on was late in the second quarter where it punted, but Santa Barbara’s return man muffed the punt and recovered by Asher Rothman, as the Sea Kings got the ball back with a little over a minute remaining before halftime.

That was plenty of time for Corona Del Mar, as on the next play, Luca DiNapoli found JJ Haley for a 42-yard touchdown pass. The Sea Kings went into halftime up 23-0 as they got the ball to start the second half.

Both teams turned the ball over on downs, but Corona Del Mar’s defense made sure the Dons were off the scoreboard. Santa Barbara got all the way down to the Sea Kings 13, but Murray came up with an interception from the goal line as he took it all the way in for a 100-yard pick six.

The Dons’ broke Corona Del Mar’s shutout, as Everett Preston ran it in for a 21-yard touchdown. But the game had already been decided, as JD Annett got playing time in the fourth quarter, registering a 9-yard rushing touchdown.

Excluding the shortened spring football season of 2021 following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Sea Kings started the season 2-0 for the seventh straight time. Through two games, they also have only given up 10 points while scoring 82.

Corona Del Mar is back at it on Thursday when they face former Sunset League rival Edison at Huntington Beach High School at 7 p.m. The Chargers fell to Pinnacle of Arizona 32-28, as the Sea Kings look to start 3-0 for the third straight season.