After CdM rally, Northwood forces 29-29 tie

NEWPORT BEACH – If Jason Hitchens had his way, the game would not have been over.

But there was Hitchens, the Corona del Mar coach, standing near midfield, watching his players head toward one end zone and the opposing Northwood players marching toward the other.

And neither team was celebrating. Corona del Mar and Northwood played to a 29-29 tie Thursday at Newport Harbor High in the Pacific Coast League opener for both teams.

There is no overtime in the Pacific Coast League. Leagues have the option of having overtimes, but it is not in the PCL constitution.

"I like to play to win the football game," said Hitchens, when asked if he could vote for overtime what his vote would be.

But he understands why there is no overtime.

"The mindset is there is an at-large berth in our division (the Southern Division)," Hitchens said. "A tie can help you if you're going for the at-large berth."

Corona del Mar is 4-1-1 overall, 0-0-1 in league. Northwood is 3-2-1, 0-0-1.

The Sea Kings trailed, 22-7 at halftime. They outscored the Timberwolves, 22-0, to take a 29-22 lead. Northwood tied it with 2:10 remaining on a 17-yard option pass from Kevin Norman to Jake Neiber. CdM got the ball but had to punt, and Northwood got near midfield in the closing seconds but no further as time expired.

Corona del Mar quarterback Mitch Gardner was hot in the second half. He completed nine passes in a row and connected with Brent Gray on touchdown passes of 52 and 27 yards in the half. On the 52-yard catch, Gray made a one-handed grab near the Northwood 25, then sprinted into the end zone.

Gray finished with five receptions for 111 yards and three touchdowns. Gardner was 13 for 21, for 238 yards.

Northwood QB Ricky Bautista was 16 for 26, for 171 yards and two TDs.

Northwood scored first. Bautista connected with Tyler Perkins on a 3-yard TD pass. A pass from Bautista to Alex King was good for the 2-pointer to give Northwood an 8-0 lead.

Corona del Mar scored on the first play of the second quarter, an 8-yard pass from Gardner to Gray, with Gray making a great leaping catch just inside the right sideline of the end zone to make it 8-7.

Bautista scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak for Northwood to push the Timberwolves' lead to 15-7.

Northwood's Joe Dunleavy recovered a CdM fumble at the Sea Kings 5-yard line. Two plays later, Bautista threw to Perkins for another 3-yard TD score, giving Northwood a 22-7 lead that Northwood at the half.

Corona del Mar's offense struggled in large part to bad shotgun snaps or snaps that were mishandled. The Sea Kings had two centers injured, and had to juggle the offensive line.