Sea Kings pull away

IRVINE — The Pacific Coast League is in its 30th season. Only three of its football teams have completed a perfect season.

The most recent one was Corona del Mar High, in 2013, when it went 16-0. Two years later, University was successful in its first seven games.

The Sea Kings stopped the Trojans from joining the league’s exclusive group. They handed University its first setback of the year, winning the league game, 42-21, on the road on Friday.

The final score wasn’t indicative of how close the game was heading into the fourth quarter. It was 21-21, but the final 12 minutes belonged to CdM, which took sole possession of first place.

The Sea Kings are two victories away from claiming their fourth consecutive 5-0 league championship. Jaydin Moses kept CdM (6-2, 3-0 in league) rolling with a 200-yard performance on the ground.

The junior carried the ball 27 times, and his last one resulted in a two-yard touchdown with 90 seconds to go that sealed CdM’s 18th straight win in league play. Moses raised his right arm as he ran into the end zone, helping CdM go ahead, 35-21. He and the Sea Kings, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division poll, ruined University’s best start since 2007, when the Trojans won their first 10 games and split the league title.

The Sea Kings don’t plan to share first this year. They got past a University (7-1, 2-1) team that has come a long ways since it only won two league games from 2008-14.

“Their offense is so good,” CdM Coach Dan O’Shea said of the Trojans’ hybrid wing-T offense, which rushed for 190 yards and passed for 142 yards. “They gave us fits.”

Whenever CdM went ahead, University answered through the first three quarters. The Trojans came back to tie the Sea Kings three times. Chase Garbers did his best to put away the Trojans, completing 11 of 14 passes for 118 yards and three touchdowns, and rushing for a touchdown.

Nevertheless, late in the third quarter, University quarterback Neil Boudreau found Alex Pourdanesh on an 18-yard touchdown pass on third-and-10. The score evened things up at 21-21 with 40 seconds left in the third.

On the ensuing kickoff, University tried an onside kick, hoping to surprise CdM as it did late in the first quarter on a fake punt. But CdM’s Teddy Barber recovered the kick on University’s 49. The gamble backfired, giving CdM great field position.

“You play to win,” University Coach Mark Cunningham said, “and that was what we were trying to do.”

The Sea Kings made the Trojans pay for not recovering the onside kick.

Garbers threw his second touchdown pass to wide receiver Taeveon Le. While rolling to his left on third-and-15, Garbers threw across his body, hooking up with Le for a 29-yard touchdown. The Sea Kings jumped ahead, 28-21, and their defense never allowed University to score again.

Barber and Bryce Claybaugh, both defensive linemen, combined for a 10-yard sack, forcing a punt midway through the fourth quarter. Almost five minutes later, CdM linebacker Blake Kormos picked off a pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

The turnover was the only one in the game.

“I have a hunch that we made them respect us,” Cunningham said.

The opening possession by University looked promising. The first play was a play-action pass and it fooled the defense. Boudreau hit a wide-open Pourdanesh (five catches for 102 yards) near midfield and the result was a 43-yard gain, setting up the offense on CdM’s 23. Two consecutive penalties, a false start and a hold, killed the drive.

There wasn’t much offense in the first quarter, until the end of it.

Moses ran right at University’s defense, gaining 17 and 24 yards on consecutive plays to move CdM to the opponent’s 34. Moses’ next carry went for 12 yards, getting the offense inside the 10-yard line.

The Sea Kings decided to run their quarterback on two of their next three plays, and Garbers ran it in from one yard to help put CdM up, 7-0, with 1:22 left in the first quarter.

University responded right away. A fake punt on fourth-and-six kept the Trojans’ drive alive. Pourdanesh ran left for 20 yards, and on the following play, running back Sam Winder, who rushed 18 times for 126 yards, got the offense in scoring position as time expired in the first quarter. He rushed for 42 yards, running over a defender before the Sea Kings pushed Winder out of bounds at the two.

Thirty-three seconds into the second quarter, University produced its first score the same way CdM did by using its quarterback. Boudreau’s bootleg on a one-yard run allowed the Trojans to even things up.

The teams traded touchdowns on the next two drives. Moses accounted for almost half of the team’s yards on an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive that saw Garbers throw a 16-yard touchdown to wideout Jack Blower.

The hosts tied CdM almost 5½ minutes later. The Trojans ran 11 plays, covering 75 yards. The Sea Kings made it easier on University by jumping offside on a third-and-four situation from CdM’s five-yard line. The penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal, and running back Matt Abellaneda rushed for his league-leading 14th touchdown with 2:54 to go in the first half.

There was plenty of time left for the Sea Kings to strike before halftime. Aiding their cause was University kicking the ball out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff, resulting in a 15-yard penalty that put CdM on its 35-yard line. Eight plays are how many the Sea Kings needed to break the tie.

Garbers completed each of his four passes on the drive, and the last one was a beauty. He threw a fade into the corner of the end zone, where Le jumped and caught the ball for a nine-yard touchdown. With 32 seconds left before halftime, CdM took a 21-14 lead.

University wound up tying it once more, at the end of the third quarter. But three fourth-quarter touchdowns kept CdM in first place and dropped the Trojans to second.

“We knew they were a good team,” Moses said. “[They were] 7-0, you know, some people would say they didn’t play very good teams before, but 7-0 is 7-0. They’re a really good program.”

Not good enough for the Trojans to keep their undefeated season alive.

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Corona del Mar 42, University 21

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CdM 7 – 14 – 0 – 21 — 42

University 0 – 14 – 7 – 0 — 21

FIRST QUARTER

CdM – Garbers 1 run (Neiger kick), 1:22.

SECOND QUARTER

U – Boudreau 1 run (Loveland kick), 11:17.

CdM – Blower 16 pass from Garbers (Neiger kick), 8:19.

U – Abellaneda 2 run (Loveland kick), 2:54.

CdM – Le 9 pass from Garbers (Neiger kick), :32.

THIRD QUARTER

U – Pourdanesh 18 pass from Boudreau (Loveland kick), :40.

FOURTH QUARTER

CdM – Le 29 pass from Garbers (Neiger kick), 9:24.

CdM – Moses 2 run (Neiger kick), 1:25.

CdM – B. Kormos 30 INT return (Neiger kick), 1:06.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CdM – Moses, 27-200, 1 TD.

U – Winder, 18-126.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CdM – Garbers, 11-14-0, 118, 3 TDs.

U – Boudreau, 14-27-1, 142, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CdM – Le, 2-38, 2 TDs.

U – Pourdanesh, 5-102, 1 TD.