Top-seeded Corona del Mar football blanks Santiago to open CIF Division 3 playoffs
In a prolific offense that is great at delivering six points at a time, Corona del Mar High football coach Dan O’Shea never has to worry about the seventh point.
Junior kicker Dane Voorhees has not missed an extra-point kick this season, with 69 straight makes.
Voorhees made seven of them in Friday’s 49-0 win over visiting Corona Santiago in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs at Newport Harbor High. In the process, he broke the Sea Kings single-season record for such conversions.
“A lot of my credit to my offense, my snapper, my holder,” he said. “I’m just keeping my head down and working. It’s a great accomplishment. I feel like my team can rely on me.”
Few aspects of the CdM machine have sputtered this season. Top-seeded CdM (11-0) won the pre-coin flip and will host San Bernardino Cajon (9-2) in the quarterfinals next week, after Cajon got past La Cañada St. Francis 42-14 in another first-round game.
Nick Kim throws a game-winning, 15-yard touchdown to Jake Keliikoa with 28 seconds left, lifting the Sailors to a 35-32 victory, the program’s first playoff win since 2013.
O’Shea said it is to be determined whether the game will be on Nov. 14 or 15 at Davidson Field. Newport Harbor also has a quarterfinal home game next week in Division 9, against Monrovia.
Sunset League champion CdM earned its first shutout of the season against Santiago (3-8), the fourth-place team from the Big VIII League. Senior defensive lineman JJ Rottler ran around smiling after the game, shouting “Bagel!” and chest-bumping his teammates.
Rottler was one of three Sea Kings to sack Santiago quarterback Brandon Arambula, along with Carter Duss and Conner Brooks. Ryder Haupt had an interception for CdM, which held the Sharks to three-and-out on their first four drives.
By then, CdM had a 21-0 lead after scoring on three of its first four drives. The Sea Kings got a one-yard touchdown run by Riley Binnquist, a three-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Garbers to Tommy Griffin and a deep 52-yard touchdown pass from Garbers to tight end Mark Redman.
Garbers finished 15 of 20 passing for 300 yards and five touchdowns. He also threw a three-yard score to Redman, and a two-yard strike to John Humphreys. In the final minute of the first half, Garbers also found Binnquist on a 40-yard screen pass down the right sideline for a touchdown. The play was aided by a big block by Humphreys downfield, and Humphreys was the first to congratulate Binnquist as he reached the end zone.
“That’s John Humphreys, the most humble superstar you’ve ever seen in your life,” O’Shea said. “His character is even better than his football talents, if you can believe it.”
O’Shea was satisfied with the effort on both sides of the ball. Garbers exited midway through the third quarter after rolling his right ankle, but CdM offensive coordinator Kevin Hettig said after the game that he is expected to be fine for next week.
Simon Hall, Max Lane and Voorhees all saw action at quarterback in the second half. Senior Ryan Rector added a rushing touchdown for CdM.
“A shutout’s not everything,” O’Shea said. “We’d rather have kids play. But more importantly, we were three-and-out on four straight drives. That was really stout, and we were pretty dynamic on defense. A lot of kudos to the defensive coaches and the players, for sure ... and the offensive balance was a key. We had running touchdowns, we had passing touchdowns to different guys. That was really exciting to see.”
The Sea Kings are averaging 45.7 points per game and have scored 42 or more points in all but one game this season, a 20-10 nonleague win at Palos Verdes in Week Two.
“I mean, Ethan’s just sitting back there with so much time slinging the ball with whoever you got,” Redman said. “Scott Giuliano, John, Tommy, Bradley [Schlom], myself. Everyone’s going to get open with that much time. It all starts up front, giving Ethan time to just sling it and go deep. As you can see, people can make plays, so it’s awesome.”
CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs
First round
Corona del Mar 49, Santiago 0
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Santiago 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 — 0
Corona del Mar 14 – 21 –14 – 0 — 49
FIRST QUARTER
CdM – Binnquist 1 run (Voorhees kick), 7:31.
CdM – Griffin 3 pass from Garbers (Voorhees kick), 4:04.
SECOND QUARTER
CdM – Redman 52 pass from Garbers (Voorhees kick), 9:59.
CdM – Humphreys 2 pass from Garbers (Voorhees kick), 1:48.
CdM – Binnquist 40 pass from Garbers (Voorhees kick), 0:17.
THIRD QUARTER
CdM – Redman 3 pass from Garbers (Voorhees kick), 8:49.
CdM – Rector 2 run (Voorhees kick), 2:38.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
S – Foster, 7-35.
CdM – Rector, 8-36, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
S – Arambula, 6-13-1, 41.
CdM – Garbers, 15-20-0, 300, 5 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
S – Granger, 2-17.
CdM – Humphreys, 8-159, 1 TD.
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