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Two-minute Drill

Monday, September 06, 2010

September 6, 2010
CORONA DEL MAR

During the first day of helmet and pads at Corona del Mar High in August, Coach Jason Hitchens thought about starting the season with Clay Reinhardt at wide receiver.

He made the right decision by not moving the senior outside.

Reinhardt rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries Friday, helping the Sea Kings beat Savanna, 36-14, at Newport Harbor High.

In the second half, Reinhardt recorded most of his yards, 113. The biggest run of the night belonged to Reinhardt, a 27-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter that gave CdM a 22-point lead.

**Senior Mitch Gardner accomplished something no Sea Kings quarterback was able to last season. He threw two touchdown passes in a game.

Gardner found Cole Cottrell twice for scores against defending Orange League champion Savanna and became the first CdM quarterback to finish with two touchdowns passes in a game since Mitch Sands did on Nov. 28, 2008. Sands' feat came in a victory in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs, while Gardner's was in a season opener.

Hitchens will take Gardner's performance after he said the biggest question mark going into the season was the quarterback position.

Gardner, who completed seven of 15 passes for 77 yards, has Huntington Beach next. The Oilers are from the Sunset League.

**The Sea Kings won their 10th straight season opener, third with Hitchens as coach.

http://articles.dailypilot.com/2010-09-06/sports/tn-dpt-0907-sptwominute-20100906_1_coach-jeremy-osso-sea-kings-cdm

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CDM takes total Cottrell

Friday, September 03, 2010

By David Carrillo Peñaloza, david.carrillo@latimes.com | September 3, 2010


NEWPORT BEACH — The public-address announcer called Cole Cottrell's name all Friday night and with good reason. Cottrell was all over the football field for Corona del Mar High. The junior flat out did it all in the season oponer. He returned punts and kickoffs, caught passes, ran the ball, defended passes and made tackles. Cottrell made sure the Sea Kings got off to a rousing start to the season after a miserable finish last year. Cottrell caught two touchdown passes and set up three scores on punt returns as host CdM beat Savanna, 36-14, at Newport Harbor High.

The nonleague victory ended the Sea Kings' five-game losing skid dating back to last season. They now look like a dangerous team on offense.

With Cottrell on special teams, Clay Reinhardt running the ball and quarterback Mitch Gardner running the no-huddle offense, CdM should have no trouble putting up points as it did last season in the Pacific Coast League.

The offense excelled against Savanna, which many expect to win the Orange League for the second straight season. The Rebels found it hard to monitor Cottrell, who lined up at practically every position.

Cottrell played in the backfield and at wide receiver in the first half. Gardner hooked up with Cottrell twice for scores before halftime.

When the Sea Kings were not throwing the ball, they handed it to Reinhardt. The senior finished with 167 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.

The defense and special-teams units helped the offense start with great field position.

The Rebels came out running the option with their big quarterback, Jeremiah Rideaux. They ran eight plays on the game's opening possession and moved past midfield before they faced a fourth-and-inches situation.

With a 5-foot-9, 212-pounder behind center, a first down seemed inevitable for the Rebels. The Sea Kings believed otherwise.

Defenders swarmed toward Rideaux, who tried to go right but a gang of tacklers met him and stopped him from getting the first down.

Two minutes later, the defense held Savanna again, forcing a punt.

Cottrell contributed to CdM's first touchdown by returning a punt 20 yards to the opponent's 30-yard line. Six plays later, the Sea Kings rewarded Cottrell for his return.

Lined up in the backfield, Cottrell went out for a pass. Gardner found him wide open in the flat for a two-yard touchdown pass, giving CdM a 6-0 lead late in the opening quarter.

The defense gave Cottrell another shot at a punt return after the Rebels' offense went three-and-out.

Cottrell's second return went further, 33 yards. Once again, he made it inside the Rebels' 30. It took CdM four plays to find the end zone.

From one yard out, Reinhardt punched it in to put the Sea Kings ahead, 12-0.

CdM continued to benefit from great field position because of its defense, which only allowed 184 yards of offense. The Sea Kings forced Savanna to go three-and-out for the third straight time. This time Cottrell did not have to return the punt because the ball traveled just 19 yards.

Rideaux put the Rebels on the scoreboard with 3:06 left to play in the first half. He marched the offense down the field in 10 plays, capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown run that cut the deficit to 12-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Rebels gambled. They tried an onside kick, only to see CdM's Stephen Ascher recover at midfield.

CdM took advantage of the excellent field position.

On the third play, Gardner saw Cottrell create separation from the defensive back. He then hit Cottrell for a 15-yard touchdown pass.

Fans heard from Cottrell again with 68 seconds left before halftime. He returned a punt 34 yards, leaving CdM inside the Rebels' 30 for the third time in the half.

The Sea Kings' lead increased to 22-7 after Andrew Boehm converted a 23-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Down the stretch last season, CdM managed to score more than 22 points only once in a game.

The Sea Kings produced the total by halftime with the help of Cottrell.

http://articles.dailypilot.com/2010-09-03/sports/tn-dpt-spcdmfootball-20100903_1_cdm-sea-kings-cole-cottrell
 
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Chemistry key for CdM

Thursday, September 02, 2010

By David Carrillo Penaloza | September 2, 2010



CORONA DEL MAR — At the end of the first day in helmet and pads, Coach Jason Hitchens brought up concussions to his Corona del Mar High football team. He mentioned the new CIF Southern Section rule dealing with head injuries.

Referees can now take players out of games if they believe they have concussion symptoms.

“If you get dizzy, feel nauseous and if you get headaches during the game, you've got to tell us,” Hitchens told his players. “You're coming out of the game if you have these symptoms.”

Hitchens felt similar symptoms in the second half of last season. Nothing alleviated the pain the way CdM closed out the season.

The Sea Kings lost five straight Pacific Coast League games, suffering their first winless league season in 12 years. CdM struggled scoring points and preventing teams from scoring.

Both of these areas must change for the Sea Kings to compete for a league title and return to the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs.

The last league crown CdM won came in 1999. This might be the Sea Kings' best year to end the drought with perennial champion Laguna Hills no longer in the league.

Hitchens is not complaining about the departure of the Hawks, winners of league the past four seasons.

“I don't feel too bad,” said Hitchens, whose team in the summer threw against Laguna Hills, which moved to the Sea View League. “They don't look too down to me.”

Hitchens hopes the Sea Kings have lifted themselves up off the ground after last season.

Six starters return on offense and five on defense, but Hitchens truly believes team chemistry is the key to CdM's success.

CdM has 26 seniors this year, compared to nine the year before. Hitchens has noticed a difference with the team's morale with more experienced players.

The lack of team unity played a role in the Sea Kings' disappointing record of 4-6, 0-5 in league.

In his 22 years coaching on the high school level, Hitchens said he never experienced a season like the last one. After starting the season at 4-1, Hitchens called the finish to his second year at CdM depressing.

Hitchens did not expect the Sea Kings to finish last in league, not after leading CdM in his first year to a 10-3 record, a runner-up finish in league and a semifinal playoff berth. At worst, he thought last season's team was a third-place team, a playoff team.

“I don't know if it was like an entitlement thing,” Hitchens said, “but I thought [in 2008], the kids didn't have any of that, and they actually earned it. They worked their way into the position where they were, the second-ranked team in the division, the No. 2 seed [in the playoffs]. The kids last year kind of just fell into that. I think they were kind of like on the coattails.

“We didn't have the same type of guys. Some of the things that we needed to do, and some of the leadership that we needed, we weren't really getting from the guys up top.”

Hitchens said the players who were juniors last year are also to blame for the collapse.

Senior linebacker David Detrick does not want to see it happen again. The returning starter said the division between the upper and lower classes does not exist as it did last year.

Detrick got Hitchens' message.

“I told the juniors that are seniors now … ‘You kind of let that happen. You guys could've taken more initiative and become more proactive than that,' ” Hitchens said. “They kind of look back at that and they don't want to have that happen again. It's kind of like what we talked about, ‘What do you want to put in your scrapbook in your senior year, 4-6?' ”

That kind of record again can only give Hitchens a migraine.
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Sea Kings seem to start over

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

By David Carrillo Peñaloza, david.carrillo@latimes.com | September 1, 2010


CORONA DEL MAR — Jason Hitchens likes to say the defense is always ahead of the offense at this point of the high school football season.

He hopes to see the offense leap past the defense on Friday night.

When the Sea Kings open the season against Savanna at Newport Harbor High at 7, they are looking to end a five-game skid. CdM did not finish ahead of anyone in its final five games last season.

The offense was futile down the stretch. Plenty of factors contributed to the Sea Kings putting up zeroes twice and finishing Pacific Coast League play averaging 12.2 points per game, and losing every league game.

Erratic quarterback play. Too many players going both ways. The defense's inability to stop anyone.

The Sea Kings enter the season with an inexperienced quarterback for the third time under Hitchens.

The Sea Kings enter the season with 11 starters on offense that will not be part of the 11 starters on defense, a first under Hitchens.

The Sea Kings enter the season with a defensive coordinator not named Eric Johnson and a defense not named the 3-4, a first under Hitchens.

Mitch Gardner starts at quarterback.

Twenty-two different players start.

Tony Dodge is running the defense and its new scheme, the 4-4.

"I thought there [were] some changes that probably needed to be made for one reason or another," said Hitchens, whose team looks to bounce back from last season, when CdM finished 4-6, 0-5 in league play. "I think the staff overall is one of the better staffs I have ever had. [The 4-4 is] what I've run most of the time I've been a coach. It's probably more diverse than some defenses because it does adjust well to spread offenses. I wasn't familiar with the 3-4 defense as coach Johnson was.

"When you have kids that spend more time on one side of the ball, they can actually get better at the position."

Here is a position-by-position look at the Sea Kings:

Quarterback: Gardner gets the nod as a senior after starting one league game and playing a half in another last season. The passing game was one of the team's weak spots last season.

"Our big question mark will be the quarterback position," said Hitchens, who has junior Brent Lawson and senior Clark Cashion backing up Gardner. "As coaches, we've got to assume some responsibility. I think we were putting too much pressure on both Mitch and [last year's original starter] Michael [Borchard] to make plays. What we should've done is we should've geared back a lot sooner and put them in a position where we were just asking them to manage things a little bit more, rather than put a lot of pressure on them to make plays."

In the Sea Kings' scrimmage last week against Costa Mesa, Gardner ran the no-huddle, spread offense well. He completed seven of 10 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

Running backs: The Sea Kings lost running backs JD Abbott and Alex Swigert to graduation.

The ground game turns to Jeff Condino, who saw some action last season when Abbott went down with an injury. The senior has speed, and at 5-foot 9 and 185 pounds, Condino is not afraid to run in between the tackles.

Senior Clay Reinhardt and junior Erik Fisher will also carry the ball, giving the Sea Kings more speed and strength. Hitchens said Reinhardt runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and benches and power cleans 250 pounds.

Receivers: Unlike last season, Hitchens believes this group is not limited.

"Last year, we had some tall kids that weren't really fast, and that allows defenses to do a lot of things that they normally wouldn't do if they had to respect the fact that you could get on top of them," Hitchens said.

The Sea Kings have deep threats this year in senior Brent Gray and Reinhardt. Hitchens said both are also dangerous after the catch.

CdM will need to get the ball in their hands.

Gray will settle for any looks. Hitchens said Gray missed the last couple of years at CdM due to academic issues. The last time he played was as a freshman.

Hitchens said Gray runs a 4.5 40 and has good hands for someone being away from the game the last two years.

Juniors Cole Cottrell and Josh Giger and senior Austin Jones will work into the rotation as well.

Tight end: Matt English, a 6-1, 200-pound junior, is a repeat starter.

Senior Preston Risser is the backup.

Offensive line: The Sea Kings finally feature some beef upfront with Hitchens at the helm.

"They're bigger [and stronger] than they've been since I've been here," said Hitchens, adding that the linemen are part of 16 players that can power clean 250 pounds or more. "We've just got to transfer it into wins. I'm kind of hoping that this is the year where we really see that."

The linemen have grown under Hitchens.

In his inaugural season, Hitchens said only one lineman weighed 200 pounds.

All five starters, junior left tackle Liam Duddy, senior left guard Dan Steele, senior center Nick Hummel, senior right guard Max Priestley, senior right tackle Jimmy Roney, tip the scale above 200 pounds this season.

Priestley and Roney are the heaviest at 245 and 240 pounds, respectively. Roney is taller at 6-4 than the 6-2 Priestley. The two are also returning starters.

Defensive line: Seniors Dylan Salisbury and Alex Herrera are returning starters at defensive end.

Stephen Ascher is the tackle. The 6-2, 255-pound senior is the strongest Sea King. Hitchens said Ascher, who did not play last year due to academic issues, benches 330 pounds.

The nose guard is Jon Metcalfe, who reminds Hitchens of former standout nose guard Dan DiChiro.

"He's not real big," Hitchens said of the 5-10, 180-pound Metcalfe. "But he's stronger [than DiChiro]."

Linebackers: The loss of Swigert at inside linebacker might hurt the Sea Kings.

Swigert was a repeat first-team all-league performer and led the team in tackles.

Risser is going to start again inside and assume the defensive signal call duties. Junior Grant Garrett and Detrick are battling for the other inside spot.

Playing outside are juniors Kyle Sherburne and Frasier Anderson.

Secondary: Cottrell and Jones return to bolster the pass defense.

Gone is Abbott at safety and in are senior Peter Markel and Giger, who will see time at safety.

Special teams: Senior Andrew Boehm will kick field goals and extra-point kicks again for Corona del Mar.

Hitchens hopes the kicker will see more action.

"He hasn't kicked a lot of field goals," Hitchens said. "Last year, we didn't score a lot of points."

Reinhardt is the punter, and he will return kicks with Cottrell. Gray may see some action as well.

Cottrell is the punt returner.

The Sea Kings

2009 record: 4-6, 0-5 in the Pacific Coast League (last place)

Coaching staff: Head Coach Jason Hitchens (third year, 14-9), Fred Romo (offensive coordinator), Tony Dodge (defensive coordinator), Dennis Wilbanks (running backs), Greg Olquin (offensive line), Brian Pearsall (defensive line), Roland Harrison (quarterbacks), Scott Dodge (secondary), Alex Solorio (defensive line), Paul Lacanilao (trainer).

Returning starters: Six offense, five defense.

2010 Schedule

September

3 - Savanna (home) at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m.

10 - Huntington Beach (home) at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m.

16 - Troy at Fullerton, 7 p.m.

24 - at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m.

October

2 - Magnolia at Western, 7 p.m.

14 – Northwood* (home) at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m.

21 - at Irvine*, 7 p.m.

29 – Woodbridge* (home) at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m.

November

5 – University* (home) at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m.

12 - Beckman at Tustin, 7 p.m.

*Pacific Coast League game

http://articles.dailypilot.com/2010-09-01/sports/tn-dpt-0902-spcdmposition-20100901_1_sea-kings-cdm-spread-offenses

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IBN to Broadcast CDM Games Online

Monday, August 30, 2010

Corona del Mar High’s football season opener will be at computer screen near you Friday.

iBN Sports plans to broadcast the Sea Kings’ game against Savanna on the internet. If you cannot make it to Newport Harbor High for the 7 p.m. kickoff, check out http://www.ibnsports.com.
http://theocnow.com/2010/08/30/cdm-football-opens-on-the-internet/
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Sea Kings handle Mesa in scrimmage

Friday, August 27, 2010

CdM rolls to 24-6 victory Friday. Gardner throws for two TDs and Reinhardt rushes for two more.

By David Carrillo Peñaloza, david.carrillo@latimes.com | August 27, 2010

COSTA MESA — The Costa Mesa High football team barely avoided being shut out Friday night. Then the Mustangs worried about the lights shutting off at Jim Scott Stadium.

Jeremy Osso wanted to make sure he was going to continue to coach the Mustangs so he tried to get a hold of whoever was in charge of the lights. Corona del Mar Coach Jason Hitchens was all for it.

The two coaches met at midfield after the Sea Kings won the varsity scrimmage, 24-6.

"Do you still want to scrimmage?" Osso asked Hitchens and Hitchens nodded his head before sending the junior varsity team out to the field.

Costa Mesa and CdM kicked off the season against each other the past two years. Osso and Hitchens decided a scrimmage made more sense before their respective teams opened the season next week.

One team is far ahead of the other.

It took time for the Sea Kings and Mustangs to produce anything offensively. Coaches waited 6 minutes, 15 seconds for an offense to move the chains.

CdM eventually found its groove behind two seniors, quarterback Mitch Gardner and running back Clay Reinhardt. Gardner completed seven of 10 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns, and Reinhardt rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.

If it was not for the shorter quarters (eight minutes), CdM might have scored more. Osso was just glad to see his team find the end zone in the final 17 seconds, when quarterback Nathan Alvis hit Jordan Walden with a 10-yard touchdown pass.

"The last two years it took us the first two games to get this [lack of offense] out of our system, so with any luck, it won't take us two games to get this out of our system," said Osso, who has not led Costa Mesa to a win in an opener in his first four years in charge.

For Osso's sake, he does not have to kick off the season against CdM again.

The Mustangs open the season at Jim Scott Stadium against Buena Park on Thursday at 7 p.m. The previous two openers, the Sea Kings beat the Mustangs by an average of 40 points.

The Mustangs appeared to close the gap between the two programs in the first seven minutes of the scrimmage.

Costa Mesa received great field position, starting on the opponent's 30 and 29 on its first two offensive possessions. The Mustangs failed to capitalize on the first opportunity when a CdM punt went for only 13 yards.

The defense quickly gave its offense another shot. On first down, Costa Mesa recovered a fumble and the Mustangs took over on the 29 midway through the first quarter.

The Sea Kings stood their ground defensively. Senior defensive end Dylan Salisbury was one of two Sea Kings to sack the left-handed Alvis. The plays fired up a group of fans in the bleachers.

Costa Mesa's crosstown rival, Estancia, attended the scrimmage. The Eagles, who also use Jim Scott Stadium as their home field, cheered whenever a play went against the Mustangs.

Late in the opening quarter, they made a lot of noise in support of CdM.

Reinhardt ripped off a 21-yard run after breaking a tackle in the backfield. Two plays later, it was wide receiver Erik Fisher gaining 24 yards on a run, putting the Sea Kings past midfield for the first time.

The Sea Kings went to Reinhardt again and this time he raced toward CdM's sideline and in for a 29-yard touchdown. With 22 seconds left in the first quarter, CdM led, 6-0, because teams were not allowed to try extra-point kicks or go for a two-point conversion.

CdM did not let Costa Mesa move the ball, let alone score in the first half.

The defense only gave up one first down to the Mustangs in the first 16 minutes. Costa Mesa's biggest play from scrimmage in the first half was a 25-yard run by senior Julian Marquez.

Costa Mesa played without its projected starter at tailback, Tyler Sheffner. Osso said Sheffner was recently hospitalized with an ulcer.

"If he's healthy, that's the plan," Osso said of Sheffner's chance to return in time for the Mustangs' opener.

Without the senior, Costa Mesa handed the ball off to senior DaSean Grayson and Marquez a combined 11 times, resulting in 41 yards. The quarterback carried the ball more against CdM.

Alvis rushed 10 times for 21 yards. The Sea Kings sacked the athletic junior four times.

The Sea Kings came away unscathed.

Hitchens went into the scrimmage indifferent about the CIF Southern Section allowing teams that play Week Zero games to scrimmage another team before the season without losing a bye week.

Hitchens weighed the pros, experiencing a game tempo before the season, to the cons. Hitchens was concerned about some players suffering injuries, which plagued CdM during its 0-5 record in the Pacific Coast League last season.

CdM opens the season against Savanna on Friday at Newport Harbor High at 7 p.m.

http://articles.dailypilot.com/2010-08-27/sports/tn-dpt-0828-fbscrim-20100827_1_cdm-rolls-jeremy-osso-sea-kings
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CDM beats Costa Mesa Again in Football

Friday, August 27, 2010

Things do not seem to change whenever Corona del Mar and Costa Mesa compete on a high school football field.

Regular season, or scrimmage, the Sea Kings own the Mustangs. CdM beat the host Mustangs, 24-6, in a scrimmage at Jim Scott Stadium Friday night.

Quarterback Mitch Gardner completed seven of 10 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Clay Reinhardt carried the ball 10 times for 89 yards and two touchdowns.

“You’ve been playing against yourself all summer long and never know how good you are,” said Jeremy Osso, coach of the Mustangs, who have not beaten CdM since 2001. “How many times did I tell you last year, ‘I thought we looked good,’ and then we go out and lose the first game [to CdM], 53-3 [in 2008].

“You look and compare where we were three years ago compared to where we are now, [we lose to CdM] 24-6 at the end of [Friday’s game], and last year was [34-6].”
http://theocnow.com/2010/08/27/cdm-beats-costa-mesa-again-in-football/
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