CdM’s football team led by No. 6 John Humphreys, celebrates the CIF title Friday night. (Photos and video: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)
Corona del Mar High football players weren’t outwardly using the ‘revenge’ word in leading up to Friday’s CIF Division 3 championship game against Grace Brethren at Newport Harbor High but it was certainly on their minds.
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The Sea Kings were quietly focused on avenging a 2018 loss at the hands of the Lancers in the CIF Division 4 championship game.
And they did just that.
CdM quarterback Ethan Garbers threw four second half touchdown passes and ran for three TDs as Corona del Mar captured the CIF Division 3 championship with a 56-28 victory over Grace Brethren.
Garbers threw TD passes of 46, 44, two and seven yards as the Sea Kings scored on their first eight possessions of the game.
“It’s the best feeling in the world to win a CIF championship,” said Garbers, who sparked CdM by converting on six fourth-down attempts. “We ran the ball great and you have to give all of the credit to the guys up front, without them we aren’t here. Now we’re ready to go for a state championship.”
Garbers completed 22 of 29 passes for 267 yards and four TDs. Three of Garbers touchdown passes went to Stanford-bound wide receiver John Humphreys, who caught TD pass of 44, two and seven yards, all in the second half.
Garbers also rushed for 105 yards and his 55-yard run on a fourth down play with 8:07 to play closed the door on any Lancers comeback.
“We dominated the line of scrimmage,” said Humphreys. “We were fired up tonight. I love my teammates. This is not just four years of hard work, we all grew up together. After we lost the championship game last year, we were all in the weight room the next day.”
Friday’s victory marked the sixth CIF title the Sea Kings have won in eight appearances.
Trailing 21-14 at halftime, Grace Brethren tied the score on the first play of the second half as Julien Stokes raced 80 yards for a touchdown. Garbers quickly rallied the Sea Kings as he tossed a 46-yard TD to Mark Redman to give CdM a 28-21 lead. Stokes again tied the score after he scored on a 38-yard touchdown run at the 8:56 mark of the third quarter.
The Sea Kings (14-0) responded by scoring two touchdowns in the final minutes of the third quarter to build a 42-28 lead after three quarters. Garbers scored on a fourth-down one-yard TD run and then he threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Humphreys as CdM began to pull away.
“We rode Ethan and our seniors all season long,” said Sea Kings Coach Dan O’Shea. “They are fierce competitors and our offensive coordinator Kevin Hettig is a genius.”
Garbers added two more TD passes in the fourth quarter to Humphreys to seal the victory. Humphreys caught 11 passes for 138 yards and three TDs in the game.
Grace Brethren (12-2), which captured the Camino League title and won three tough playoff battles leading up to the finals, was attempting to win its third consecutive CIF title. Stokes led the Lancers with 138 yards rushing.
Grace Brethren could not slow down the Sea Kings (14-0) have outscored their playoff opponents 195-63.
The Washington-bound Garbers has thrown for 9,036 yards and 123 touchdowns in his high school career. Humphreys has caught 273 passes and scored 79 touchdowns in his high school career.
The Sea Kings averaged 45.6 points per game and have scored 40 or more points in 13 of their 14 games this year. Their closest game was a 20-10 victory over Palos Verdes earlier in the season.
Riley Binnquist also had a huge game for CdM, rushing for 146 yards and a touchdown.
“Give all of the credit to the guys up front, they gave me the rock and they made it happen,” Binnquist said.
CdM took the opening kickoff and marched 66 yards in 11 plays in 6:01 to take a quick 7-0 lead. Garbers completed all six of his passes on the drive for 58 yards and capped it off with a 2-yard TD run on a fourth down play.
Grace Brethren countered with a 12 play, 72-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 7-7. The Lancers drive was sparked by Josh Henderson’s 32-yard run for a first down on a fourth down play. Eight plays later, Henderson scored on a one-yard TD run to tie the score at 7-7 at the 11:25 mark of the second quarter.
On the Sea Kings ensuing possession, Binnquist blasted around left end and made several crafty moves enroute to racing into the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown run and giving CdM a 14-7.
Following a defensive stop by the Sea Kings, CdM was on the move again, this time moving 74 yards in 9 plays to up its lead to 21-14. Binnquist broke off a 49-yard run and Garbers extended the drive with a 5-yard on a fourth down play, giving the Sea Kings a crucial first down at the Grace Brethren 8-yard line.
Three plays later, Garbers raced into the end zone from two yards for his second touchdown of the game to culminate the drive.
The Lancers rallied late in the first half and closed the score to 21-14 after Stokes caught an 8-yard TD pass from Mikey Zele with 24 seconds remaining. Grace Brethren then recovered the ensuing kickoff but failed to capitalize and trailed 21-14 at halftime.
STATS
RUSHING: GB, Stokes 7-138, Henderson 17-70; CdM, Binnquist, 14-146, Garbers 14-105
PASSING: GB, 8-19-0, 107 yards, TD; CdM, Garbers, 22-29-0, 267, 4 TDs
RECEVING: GB, Stokes 6-36, Bennett 2-60; CdM, Humphreys 11-138, Redman 3-56.
-Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
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