High School Football: Garbers-Le Show sparks win over Trabuco Hills

Corona del Mar High’s Dan O’Shea said he has no ill will toward Trabuco Hills, where he taught for 10 years and coached football for six years. He stopped coaching as an assistant at Trabuco Hills when he joined CdM’s staff as an assistant five years ago.

O’Shea is in his second year at the helm of CdM, and on Friday, the Sea Kings didn’t hold back against his former school.

Up big in the first half, the Sea Kings kept airing it out and with much success. Forty-eight points are how many CdM posted by halftime.

Chase Garbers lit up the Mustangs, throwing five first-half touchdowns en route to CdM’s 55-14 blowout win at Jim Scott Stadium.

Afterward, members of Trabuco Hills’ coaching staff had issues with CdM throwing the ball so much with the game out of reach.

“It’s always hard. You just don’t know how to handle it,” said O’Shea, referring to playing with a huge lead. “We had played our JVs the entire second half. We tried to do the best we can, but, you know, we were unfortunately on fourth down [on the Mustangs’ 25-yard line early in the fourth quarter]. We asked [backup quarterback Nathaniel Espinoza] to check it down and he accidentally throws it deep [for a touchdown to Grant Sanchez], and that’s the last thing you want to do.”

The Sea Kings (4-1) had their way with Trabuco Hills (2-4), especially Garbers, the Cal-bound quarterback.

Garbers squared off with the Mustangs for the third time in as many years. The performance he delivered as a senior trumps the last two, both coming in the playoffs, and the latest featured Garbers for only two quarters.

Garbers completed 19 of 25 passes for 316 yards in the first half. His top target was TaeVeon Le, who finished with eight catches for 123 yards and four touchdowns. Garbers said CdM was motivated to play Trabuco Hills again.

“We had a little talk with the seniors,” Garbers said. “Them ending our season [in the quarterfinals] a couple of years ago when we were sophomores definitely still [fires us up]. Then last year coming out and we ended their season in the [opening round of the] playoffs, so kind of a little rivalry there.”

This year’s meeting between the two programs came at the midway point in the regular season. They both wrapped up nonleague play, and CdM dominated, winning its fourth straight since it dropped the season opener at Palos Verdes.

The Sea Kings should continue to roll next Thursday, when they kick off Pacific Coast League action with Woodbridge at Jim Scott Stadium. They are riding a 20-game winning streak in league. Woodbridge has lost to CdM every year since it returned to the league in 2010.

Even though it has been 17 years since CdM suffered a setback to the Warriors, O’Shea is expecting a game.

“They got Connor McBride back there at tailback and he’s a load,” said O’Shea, who is looking forward to the debut of junior linebacker Clyde Moore next week, when the Mater Dei transfer will be eligible to play for the Sea Kings. “He’s a player.”

The Sea Kings showcased their offensive players in the first quarter. They produced 27 points. Garbers threw three touchdowns in the first 4½ minutes, and the first two were of the long variety.

After missing on a possible 49-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage by overthrowing a wide-open Le down field, Garbers hit Le on the next play. And Le was all alone again. Le caught a pass on Trabuco Hills’ 30-yard line, and with the defensive back slipping, Le raced in untouched for a 49-yard touchdown.

The Sea Kings, who saw Mickey Quinn, Pasha Dastmalchi, Connor Reid, Bryce Clabaugh and Teddy Barber sack Trabuco Hills quarterback Tommy Germain in the first half, got the ball back right away. And on first down on CdM’s 27, Garbers fired away.

He hit a wide-open Cameron Kormos in stride on the opponent’s 45-yard line and Kormos finished the 73-yard touchdown with ease. A defender also shoved Kormos in the end zone, and the referee threw a flag for a personal foul.

The 15-yard penalty was enforced on the ensuing kickoff, and with CdM’s Max Casper kicking off from Trabuco Hills’ 45-yard line, the Sea Kings called for an onside kick. The left-footed Casper kicked one to the left, toward the sideline and CdM’s Chase Dugan recovered the ball on the 31. Four plays later, Garbers connected with Le on a four-yard touchdown pass. The Sea Kings took a 20-0 lead.

It seemed over by then, but O’Shea said there could be another CdM-Trabuco Hills matchup this year. Both teams are in the same playoff division, and it’s possible they can see each other in the postseason for the third consecutive year.

“I expect to see them down the road,” O’Shea said. “They’ll be a playoff team … coming out of the South Coast [League].”

Nonleague

Corona del Mar 55, Trabuco Hills 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Trabuco Hills 0 – 0 – 0 – 14 — 14

Corona del Mar 27 – 21 – 0 – 7 — 55

FIRST QUARTER

CdM – Le 49 pass from Garbers (Casper kick), 11:14.

CdM – Kormos 73 pass from Garbers (Casper kick), 9:03.

CdM – Le 4 pass from Garbers (kick failed), 7:45.

CdM – Moses 2 run (Casper kick), 3:54.

SECOND QUARTER

CdM – Le 11 pass from Garbers (Casper kick), 11:50.

CdM – Le 25 pass from Garbers (Rahmatpanah kick), 9:16.

CdM – Murphy 1 run (Casper kick), 3:15.

FOURTH QUARTER

CdM – Sanchez 25 pass from Espinoza (Casper kick), 10:03.

TH – Hurd 4 pass from Corrao (Brosnan kick), 7:40.

TH – Montgomery 1 run (Brosnan kick), 1:43.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

TH – Corrao, 8-18.

CdM – Espinoza, 6-29.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

TH – Corrao, 8-13-0, 110, 1 TD.

CdM – Garbers, 19-25-0, 316, 5 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

TH – Hurd, 3-72, 1 TD.

CdM – Le, 8-123, 4 TDs.