DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

The message the Corona del Mar High coaching staff harped on touched Noah Molnar again.

You have to play like there is no tomorrow because nothing is guaranteed.

No coach had to remind the senior of the devastating loss this time.

All year long, Coach Jason Hitchens tried to instill in his players that any given play can be their last on the football field.

Molnar saw his best friend, Dillon Norton, suffer such a fate last week, making it four starters in recent weeks lost for the season due to injuries.

Late in the Sea Kings’ 41-0 victory at Laguna Beach in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs, Norton broke his left leg on a punt return.

Three days before Saturday’s semifinal game between the No. 2-seeded Sea Kings (10-2) and No. 3-seeded Mayfair (9-3) at Newport Harbor High, Molnar visited a bedridden Norton.

Molnar showed up to keep Norton’s spirit up after Hitchens said the senior underwent surgery to repair a fibula and tibia.

It turned out Norton lifted Molnar with words he’s heard plenty of times before from Hitchens.

“He just tells us that we need to just go out and play every play like it’s our last,” said Molnar, who starts at wide receiver and cornerback, the same positions Norton excelled at for most of the season. “He’s just really bummed that he’s not going to be out there playing with us. It’s kind of setting [in for] him that [last week] was his last high school football game.

“He’s definitely going to be in all of our hearts and we definitely want to get him the ring.”

The Sea Kings are two wins away from claiming their first section crown since 1989 and third overall in the program’s history.

Molnar said Norton plans to experience the championship ride, even though he can only do so in a wheelchair.

The Sea Kings are hoping Norton attends the game against Mayfair. Molnar said Norton told him he must remain in bed until Saturday afternoon, giving him enough time to possibly make the 7 p.m. game if Norton’s health permits.

Norton’s presence can impact the Sea Kings, who have won five straight games.

As for what kind of a crowd will turn out to back CdM in its first semifinal appearance since 1995, Molnar isn’t sure.

“We had a pretty good [road] crowd last week,” said Molnar, who finished with four catches for 87 yards and one touchdown and an interception at Laguna Beach.

“We don’t go into games expecting to get a huge crowd. We really feed off ourselves.”

Extra noise can boost CdM’s confidence.

Fanfare at home hasn’t been as high as Hitchens anticipated in his first year at CdM.

“I really hadn’t noticed [the small home crowds] until the La Mirada game,” said Hitchens, whose team beat La Mirada, 26-15, in the opening round of the playoffs at Newport Harbor. “I happened to look up [toward] the bleachers because I was looking for one of my assistant coaches to see if he had his headset on.

“I look up there and then I look across to the La Mirada side and [it] had more people than we did. I said, ‘You got to be kidding me! This is the playoffs!’ We’ve won our fair share of games. You’d think some people would start jumping on the bandwagon.”

The lack of support doesn’t hurt Hitchens as much as the depletion of his roster in recent weeks.

Norton joins junior linebacker Justin Tam (leg), sophomore free safety Will Morrow (knee) and sophomore kicker Andrew Boehm (leg) on Hitchens’ injury list. If you include Norton starting at receiver, cornerback, kicker returner and punter returner, the Sea Kings lost a lot of experience.

Taking over Norton’s punt returning duties as well as being CdM’s No. 1 target at receiver will be Molnar. Some of Norton’s big-play ability can be seen in Molnar’s game.

On a streak down the Laguna Beach sideline early in the second quarter last week, Molnar showed it on a 50-yard touchdown reception. Using his 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame against a smaller cornerback, Molnar leaped and came down with a tipped ball near the 10-yard line before racing into the end zone.

“That was a funny play,” Molnar said. “It might have hit off his [helmet], or he tipped it up to me. I just grabbed it with one hand.

“He [lined up] across from me on the [extra-point kick]. I just told him, ‘Thank you!’ He didn’t respond.”

Hitchens expects CdM on Saturday to answer the call despite the injury setbacks.

“If there’s ever a moment of doubt in any of the players mind,” Hitchens said of this possibly being CdM’s final game of the year, “they can glance over to the sideline and take a look at Dillon, or Justin, or Will, or Andrew, and that will reaffirm that, ‘Heck, maybe there are a few more downs left.’ ”

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