Corona del Mar Shuts Down San Juan Hills in Bravo League Opener, Stays Undefeated, Score 33-10 (2025)

Newport Beach – Davidson Field (NHHS)

The Corona del Mar football team pulled off a statement win in its Bravo League opener, beating San Juan Hills 33-10 on Friday at Davidson Field.

In holding the Stallions to its lowest point total of this season, the Sea Kings remained undefeated and took a massive first step forward in its pursuit of winning the league title. Last season, the Sea Kings went 1-4 in league with three of their four league losses coming by one score.

Corona del Mar set the tone on San Juan Hills’ first drive, as they forced a fumble on a run on third and one courtesy of Canon Cook who caused the fumble. A couple plays later, Brady Annett found JJ Haley on the score to give the Sea Kings the first points.

After both teams were unsuccessful with their second drive, the Stallions’ third drive was a promising one, getting all the way down to Sea King 25, which bled into the second quarter. But a Will Chavez interception derailed those hopes, though the Sea Kings did have to start its next drive on their own two due to where the ball was spotted.

That drive seemed no problem for Corona del Mar, as Annett kept making big pass after big pass to give his team some breathing room and then some. Eventually, the drive was capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Annett to Garrett James, doubling the lead.

The next San Juan Hills drive was also intercepted, as Cash Pearsall picked it off and returned it into the red zone. Despite the great field position, Corona del Mar only came up with a field goal, as Joseph DeBella booted a 31-yard field goal.

The Stallions didn’t get on the board until close to the end of the quarter, after their promising drive was mauled by penalties. Kyle Donahue knocked in a 41-yard field goal to prevent his team from getting shut out for the first time since 2022 when it lost 39-0 to Yorba Linda in a non-league game.

The second half saw Corona del Mar’s first drive ate up over two-thirds of the quarter, as it was capped off by Annett making an amazing move to evade tacklers and find James in the endzone for the score.

San Juan Hills kept getting plagued by penalties and was forced to punt, but caught a break, as Tyler Adams picked off Annett, though the ball was spotted at its own one yard line. Even when the Stallions caught a break by forcing that turnover, Damian Zeno-Herrera tackled the running in the endzone for a safety.

Eventually, the Sea Kings put the game out of reach, as Annett found James for a score after the two connected on a previous score which was wiped away due to a penalty.

San Juan Hills coach Robert Frith said that Corona del Mar dominated in all three phases of the game and “tipped his hat” to the home team following the win, calling them, “underrated.” The Stallions also committed more than 100 yards worth of penalties and was forced into three turnovers.

Corona del Mar now turns its attention to next Saturday, when it plays Newport Harbor in the annual Battle of the Bay game being held at Orange Coast College at 7 p.m. The Sailors dropped their Bravo League opener to Tesoro on the road 17-14.

The Sea Kings fell to the Sailors 21-14 at Davidson Field in last season’s rivalry game, as they look to halt a two-game skid to their rival, Newport Harbor leads the overall series 40-23.