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Corona del Mar’s 30-game winning streak ended in the most noble of ways.

Sea Kings coach Scott Meyer lined up a challenging nonleague schedule that put his team to the test. No Trinity League schools are on Corona del Mar’s nonleague schedule, but, hey, most of the larger public school programs don’t pursue playing those teams, too.

Tesoro, a quality team from the South Coast League was added, and that’s the team that took down Corona del Mar last week, 28-14.

MATER DEI’S ‘D’

Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson said this year’s Monarchs defensive line would be the best he has coached there. He has been the coach since the late 1980s, so that’s saying something.

Mater Dei held Edison to 1 yard net rushing last week in a 34-12 win.

Monarchs quarterback Jack Lowary keeps improving and the offensive line had its best outing in the Edison game. This could be a heck of a season at Mater Dei.

THE CASE FOR DARNOLD

Orange County is ocean-deep at quarterback. The competition for All-County first-, second- and third-team quarterbacks is tough.

So far, San Clemente senior Sam Darnold might be the best of the bunch. His arm strength and accuracy are superior; he had not thrown an interception this season until his 116th pass. Servite’s Travis Waller is a better runner, but Darnold is terrific there, too.

Darnold, committed to USC, is surprisingly quick at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds and one can’t blame a defensive back for cringing a little when Darnold is approaching at full throttle.

FRYER’S O.C. TOP 25

Here is how I rank county football teams 1-25 this week: 1. Mater Dei (4-0); 2. Servite (3-2); 3. Santa Margarita (4-1); 4. JSerra (5-0); 5. Orange Lutheran (4-1); 6. Mission Viejo (3-2); 7. Tesoro (4-1); 8. Corona del Mar (4-1); 9. Los Alamitos (4-0); 10. Edison (3-2); 11. San Clemente (5-0); 12. El Toro (4-1); 13. La Habra (2-3); 14. Trabuco Hills (2-3); 15. Villa Park (2-2); 16. Newport Harbor (1-3); 17. Fountain Valley (4-1); 18. Cypress (3-1); 19. Troy (4-1); 20. Valencia (3-1); 21. Yorba Linda (2-2); 22. Buena Park (4-0); 23. Capistrano Valley (4-1); 24. Fullerton (3-2); 25. Irvine (4-1).

FRYER’S EXPLANATION

The Trinity League teams are ranked that way in my top 25 because that is the prediction, at this time, of the order of finish, behind or around St. John Bosco.

Mission Viejo is getting healthy and is evaluated as slightly superior to Tesoro, which is coming on fast. Edison might be better than San Clemente on defense, although San Clemente clearly has the superior offense.

THIS WEEK

There are some good matchups:

Tesoro at San Clemente, Thursday: This one has excellent quarterbacks, Darnold of San Clemente and Devon Modster of Tesoro, and plenty of other playmakers. It could be a crazy offensive hullabaloo.

University at Garden Grove, Thursday: University is 3-1 and off to one of its better starts in recent years. Garden Grove has back-to-back wins over Pacifica and Dana Hills.

Los Alamitos at Narbonne of Harbor City, Friday: Narbonne is 1-3, but the Gauchos have lost to three teams in the CalHiSports.com state top 25: No. 5 Alemany of Mission Hills; No. 9. Serra of Gardena; and No. 12 Long Beach Poly.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com