NEWPORT BEACH – As the ball bounced off of Tustin star George Wilson’s hands and into his own, Corona del Mar’s Brett Greenlee told himself one thing: Hold. On.
Luckily for the Sea Kings, he followed his own advice.
Leading by three with less than three minutes remaining, Greenlee put the finishing touches on the game as he intercepted a pass and ran it back 30 yards for a touchdown, giving the top-seeded Sea Kings a 17-7 win over Tustin in the opening round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoffs.
Corona del Mar (10-1) got on the board for the first time early in the second quarter on a 35-yard Bo St. Geme touchdown reception. Tustin (6-5) tied things up late in the third on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Alema Pilimai.
Though Jason Neiger added a field goal to start the fourth quarter for CdM, the Tillers had a chance to steal the game late as they started a drive at their own 25. But Greenlee’s heroics ended any hope of an upset for Tustin and set up a matchup with Trabuco Hills on the road next Friday.
“(I thought) just don’t drop it,” Greenlee said with a smile. “I’ve had one of those before where it just goes right through your hands. It really turned the tides of the game.”
The Sea Kings were playing in their first playoff game since moving up divisions in the offseason. Corona del Mar had dominated the competition en route to three straight Southern Division titles and a state championship in previous years.
If Friday was any indication, the path isn’t going to be so easy from now on for the ninth-ranked team in the county.
“I think every game is going to be a battle,” Sea Kings coach Scott Meyer said. “(Tustin’s) not a bad team just cause they’re a third-place team. That’s a pretty good football team.”
Though the offense sputtered at times, Corona del Mar managed to run the ball effectively with Cole Martin. The senior had 124 yards on 20 carries. Carrying the load on the perimeter was St. Geme, who tallied nine catches for 139 yards and a touchdown.
But, it was the defense that came up big when it mattered.
“They’ve done a heck of a job every game,” Meyer said. “You can kind of count on them a lot to make a big play down the stretch.”
Contact the writer: mkatz@ocregister.com
