The 60th edition of the Battle of the Bay has its place in the history books as Corona del Mar extends it winning streak to a series-record nine in a row over Newport Harbor in the rivalry dating back to the Kennedy administration. The Sailors had previously won eight straight over the Sea Kings in the 1970’s.
With a playoff berth in the balance for both teams, CdM overcame four Harbor interceptions in a mostly defensive, intensely competitive first two quarters to score 21 unanswered points in the second half and pull away for the 35-12 victory.
As the designated host at Davidson Field where both teams play their home games, Harbor started with the energy of a junkyard dog defending its turf. Junior Garrett Emerson’s interception on CdM’s opening series and his 44-yard runback set up the Sailors’ first score of the game, a 35-yard field by sophomore John Richardson to give NHHS a 3-0 lead.
The Harbor defense kept the pressure on with a strong pass rush and forced its second turnover when senior Andrew Chenier picked off another CdM pass on the second possession.
The Sea Kings defense, however, was equal to the task with an interception of its own that ignited a CdM rally. A David Rasor to Charlie Mannon 24-yard touchdown pass gave CdM a 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter. After executing a successful onside kick, Rasor then dashed 23-yards up the middle on a quarterback keep to put the Sea Kings up 14-3.
The Harbor offense responded with a scoring drive of its own. Senior quarterback AJ Guitron-Moore moved the chains with a 26-yard completion to junior Kashton Henjum, then scrambled for 12 yards for another first down. Richardson’s second field goal of the night from 25-yards out shaved the lead before the Sailors added momentum going into halftime. Guitron-Moore connected with sophomore Josiah Lamarque on a downfield hitch pattern, and after sidestepping his coverage, Lamarque outraced two more defenders to the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown. The incomplete two-point conversion try left it at 14-12 CdM at half.
A Jack Salmon interception flipped the momentum back to CdM early in the third quarter. While running a more ground-oriented game plan in the second half, the Sea Kings controlled possessions before a couple of quick strikes through the air extended the lead. A Rasor to Evan Sanders 12-yard TD pass stretched the lead to 21-12. The back-breaker was Rasor to John Tipton 38-yard scoring strike on a 4th down & 10 play to make it 28-12 CdM. Rasor and Sanders connected again on a 45-yard catch & carry in the fourth quarter to produce the final score.
The loss ends the Sailors’ modest two game win streak, dropping its record to 2-2 in Sunset games, 3-6 overall. With the slimmest of playoff hopes, Harbor travels to face powerful Los Alamitos in its final game on the schedule next Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Westminster.
– Matt Morrison
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