Corona del Mar football gets boost from defense in win over Huntington Beach

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

NEWPORT BEACH >> Corona del Mar got off to a slow start in its Sunset League football game against Huntington Beach on Friday at Newport Harbor High School.

But the Sea Kings, who are ranked No. 9 in Orange County, made up for it with four touchdowns in the second quarter and came away with a 35-8 victory.

The Sea Kings (6-1, 1-1) needed the victory after losing to No.7 Edison last week and with No. 5 Los Alamitos as their next opponent.

Corona del Mar’s defense had as many playmakers as the offense.

Dylan Wood and Charlie Mannon had two sacks each and both players recovered fumbles by the Oilers (4-3, 1-1), who were turned away inside the red zone three times

“We couldn’t have played any better defensively tonight,” Corona del Mar coach Dan O’Shea said.

The Oilers’ defense also had some bright spots on defense, sacking Sea Kings quarterback David Rasor four times.

“We let him get hit too many times,” O’Shea said. “I think he was picking himself up off the ground, eight, nine, 10 times. We’ve got to clean that up and get ready for Edison.”

The Sea Kings scored four touchdowns in the second quarter, including three within the final three minutes.

Evan Sanders scored the first of his two touchdowns on an 18-yard run for the first score of the game.

Later in the quarter, Eli Anderson blocked and recovered a Sea Kings punt, setting up the Oilers at the Corona del Mar 20.

But four plays into the ensuing drive, Mannon recovered a fumble for the Sea Kings on their 24.

Corona del Mar converted the takeaway into a 55-yard touchdown pass from Rasor with 2:39 left in the first half.

The Oilers took over but went three-and-out, running only 29 seconds off the clock.

The Sea Kings took possession and scored on a 22-yard scoring pass from Rasor to Sanders with 1:23 left.

On the ensuing drive, Nathan Bloom recovered a fumble on the Oilers’ 14 and scored two players later on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Rasor to Max Lane with 32 seconds left.

“We’re definitely happy with our performance (on defense),” Mannon said. “As a defense, we’ve always got to stay hungry. We know we’ve got a big one next week.

Sanders was playing in his third game after missing the first three with a knee injury.

The Oilers’ touchdown came on a 22-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Perez to Tyler Moses.