COSTA MESA – Corona del Mar coach Dan O’Shea believes his team’s season-opening loss was a blessing in disguise.
The Sea Kings showed why Thursday.
No. 12 Corona del Mar slowed physical runner Connor McBride and overcame the loss of standout right guard Bryan Samudro en route to a 45-7 victory against Woodbridge that showed toughness and execution.
O’Shea said both were lacking in a 42-20 loss at Palos Verdes, but the Sea Kings (5-1, 1-0) have won five consecutive games and 21 consecutive overall in the Pacific Coast League.
Quarterback Chase Garbers took care of the execution, completing 25 of 32 passes for 287 yards and touchdowns to Billy Shaw and Reece Perez. The Cal commit also rushed for a touchdown and guided a short-passing attack that didn’t punt against the Warriors (2-4, 0-1).
Running back JT Murphy added 87 yards on the ground and two touchdowns for Corona del Mar.
The Sea Kings held McBride to 100 yards on 12 carries but the senior gained 67 yards on one run.
“We controlled the line of scrimmage and I thought defensively, short of the long run … we did a real good job controlling McBride, which is the key,” O’Shea said.
O’Shea said Samudro hurt his ankle on the Sea Kings’ first possession but should be OK.
Defensive lineman Bryce Clabaugh recorded a sack and blocked a field goal for Corona del Mar.
Woodbridge’s Nate Ledoux made an 8-yard TD catch from Spencer Weston late in the third quarter against double coverage.
Corona del Mar scored on all three of its possessions in the first half to lead, 17-0, at intermission.
Murphy capped an 11-play, 71-yard drive with a 4-yard TD run with 5:09 left in the first quarter.
After Clabaugh blocked a 23-yard field goal attempt by Woodbridge, Corona del Mar drove 91 yards on 16 plays for a 5-yard TD run by Garbers early in the second quarter.
The Sea Kings added a 42-yard field goal by Max Casper with 49 seconds left in the half.
McBride broke a 67-yard run out of the wildcat formation to the Corona del Mar 10 to help set up Woodbridge’s field goal attempt.
Corona del Mar showed its confidence to open the second half. The Sea Kings drove 71 yards for a 1-yard TD by Murphy but highlighted their march by converting a fourth-and-8 from the Woodbridge 21.
“We’ve improved a lot,” Garbers said. “That loss was definitely a wake-up call for us. It proves that we’re not that good. We can get beat really easily. … Us seniors definitely took that into consideration. The whole team did. We have to work our tails off and keep executing to perfection.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@scng.com
