Hitchens enjoys new digs

Everything looks in place for Jason Hitchens at Corona del Mar High.

The new football coach has a refurbished office with a little widescreen TV above his desk, part of the new cabinetry, and he likes the field house.

“They kind of redid the whole field house,” said Hitchens, referring to the CdM booster club. “We closed off the weight room and that’s now a team room. What we did was we put the wall back up and we extended out. We put canopies out in the back area and moved the weight room.

“[The booster club members] made the commitment that they wanted to get it done and not turn it into sometimes, you now, a two- or three-year project. They said, ‘Let’s get it done now.’ ”

The boosters are hoping it translates to success on the field.

After a 4-5 season in which the Sea Kings missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003, and saw their longtime coach Dick Freeman get fired, it won’t be easy.

Hitchens has coached three league winners at El Modena and a section title winner at St. Margaret’s. But he’s cautious about this year in the Pacific Coast League. Any coach would be with seven starters going both ways.

Right now Hitchens is enjoying his new place and what it has to offer. He likes the centrally located computer system allowing coaches to access films from work and home.

“[There are] a lot of things that I think are going to hopefully make things a little easier,” Hitchens said.

CdM is also going back to the silver helmet.

“It’s kind of the Dallas [silver]. It was almost a black helmet [last year],” Hitchens said. “I thought when you looked at it, it matches the uniform better. I think that there’s kind of a little bit of a tradition with the helmet.

“When you talk to some of the alumni that are still a part of it, they were happy to see the silver come back.”

Now there’s the silver lining.

Here’s a position-by-position look at the Sea Kings, who start the season against Costa Mesa at Newport Harbor High Friday at 7 p.m.

Quarterback: Senior Mitch Sands starts after seeing limited action last season.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder replaces Hunter Alder, who struggled after stepping in as the starter when record-breaker Taylor Hughes graduated.

Hitchens likes Sands’ athleticism. Whether he can throw for 2,204 yards and 22 touchdowns like Hughes did in 2006 remains to be seen.

“He’s an intelligent player. He picks up things pretty quickly,” said Hitchens of Sands, who threw for 326 yards and one touchdown, including two interceptions last season. “He runs well with the football and he can throw the ball, which poses kind of a dual threat to most defenses.”

Junior Michael Borchard will be the backup.

Running backs: This is a position the Sea Kings had depth at last season. The problem was that no running back consistently carried the load.

It changed from week to week. That might be the same situation this year with juniors J.D. Abbott and Alex Swigert battling for carries with seniors Trevor McKeen and Dillon Norton.

“[Running back] could be by committee,” said Hitchens, who’s fully aware of the positives and negatives of sharing the ball. “It sometimes depends on the running back. There are some running backs that the more carries they get, they kind of get into a rhythm.

“There are other guys you can just give the ball. Some of it has to do with running style, you’re a slasher and you set things up. Sometimes it takes you a little while to kind of get into that.”

Abbott, who ran for 233 yards and two touchdowns last season, is someone Hitchens wants to see touch the ball 15 times a game. The 6-2, 185-pound Abbott averaged close to eight carries per game last season.

“Swigert is kind of a tweener guy,” said Hitchens of the 6-foot, 185-pounder. “I think he probably could run [inside] if he wanted to. I think he would prefer to bounce and cut. [McKeen and Norton] are just really shifty.”

“When you throw different looks at a defense, it keeps [defenders] on their heels. You got a guy that’s just going to be pounding, pounding, [defenders] adjust to that. You get a guy who can cut back on you, you have to play your assignment, and you have to stay home on that backside.”

As for fullback, Hitchens plans to use the position as a runner. Abbott and Swigert will see time, along with seniors Dan DiChiro and Dutch Lamons.

Receivers: Sands will have quality players to throw to, starting with seniors Max Haase, Noah Molnar and Norton.

Haase and Molnar return after being the No. 2 and No. 3 leading receivers in 2007. Both earned second-team all-league honors.

“There’s some speed,” Hitchens said. “Then there are your guys that run good routes, possession [types]. We got some tall guys like [John] Christian, who’s about 6-4. Borchard is like 6-3. [They] aren’t necessarily 100-meter guys, but they got good speed, they got height, they have other intangibles that can create some mismatches with a shorter corner.”

Tight end: Hitchens said he has four possibilities. It might take all four to produce the kind of numbers Ali Meshkin put up last season as a senior.

Meshkin led the team with 38 catches for 379 yards and earned Newport-Mesa Dream Team honors.

Six-foot-three senior Tyler Haly, 6-3 Haase, 6-1 Molnar and 5-11 Lamons are in the mix.

Offensive line: Senior Brad Dupuie is the lone starter back. The 6-2, 195-pounder started at center last season, but moves to tackle.

The other tackle will be 6-3, 210-pound senior Will Ham.

At center is senior Grant Keligian (5-8, 175), and at guards are junior Riley Conroy (5-9, 195) and senior Ben Noe (6-1, 220).

“I think if we got in a real jam, we’d probably have to look at DiChiro playing some line,” Hitchens. “We don’t really want to get into that.”

Defensive line: The defense moves from a 3-5 to a 3-4 under Eric Johnson, a successful defensive coordinator at Mater Dei during the 1990s.

DiChiro will be counted on to create a lot of havoc as the returning nose guard. Ham and Noe will be the ends.

“I don’t know too many people that are going to be able to block Dan one on one just because of his quickness,” Hitchens said.

Linebackers: The Rask twins have graduated, leaving a huge void.

Erik was the Pacific Coast League’s Defensive Player of the Year after recording a team-high 81 tackles and 24 assists, to go with 4.5 sacks and two interceptions.

Kevin was second on the team in tackles with 62 and 38 assists.

Haase, Haly, Lamons, Swigert, junior Justin Tam and senior Andrew Hicks will contribute. Haase and Haly inside, the rest outside.

Secondary: CdM returns a lot of talent.

Molnar starts at strong safety with Abbott at free safety. Norton and McKeen will be the cornerbacks.

“We’ll maybe look at Mitch playing a little bit in the secondary,” Hitchens said.

Special teams: Sophomore Andrew Boehm will be the kicker and Christian the punter.

“He’s got a decent leg,” Hitchens said of Boehm. “It’s just a matter of consistency.”

Molnar might try be asked to convert extra points.

Who will return kickoffs and punts is up in the air.

“We’re talking about a lot of guys that are playing both sides of the ball,” Hitchens said. “We don’t want to really try to cut any corners. We want to make sure our 11 best players are on the field.

“What would really help is if some of the guys that are kind of tweener guys step up.

“We talk about everybody having a role to play.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].