CdM owns Breakers

LAGUNA BEACH — Dick Freeman really didn’t care what Laguna Beach High planned to throw at his Corona del Mar football team.

Now we know why.

The Sea Kings’ defense came out in the season opener like gangbusters. Laguna Beach’s nickname is the Breakers, but that Corona del Mar defense made sure most of Friday night that no offensive player would break free.

Charley Bowman tried to. At the end he could, as CdM won, 26-6, allowing the Laguna Beach quarterback to recover in the locker room from a beating.

“I’ve never beaten Corona del Mar before,” Bowman, the reigning Orange Coast League MVP, said afterward.

The senior lost his last chance, watching the Sea Kings extend their winning streak to nine games against Laguna Beach.

Bowman ran into a wall practically every time he ran out of the spread offense. The only thing that spread was his 6-foot, 175-pound body.

Linebacker Erik Rask, returning from a knee injury last year as a junior, recorded a sack, one of five times Corona del Mar dropped Bowman behind the line of scrimmage.

The defense allowed only two first downs and Bowman to complete only two passes. It also intercepted one of his passes.

Freeman expected the defense, with eight returning starters, to steal the spotlight and alleviate the pressure off his offense. It worked as senior Hunter Alder, a backup last year, received his opportunity to lead the offense.

How long Alder stayed in depended on his success. Freeman described Alder’s performance as solid and that he’ll start next week’s game against El Toro at Trabuco Hills.

Alder threw for a career-high 256 yards and three touchdowns, showing he had command of the offense, almost as good as last year’s star, Taylor Hughes.

He delivered throughout the night, even scoring on a 15-yard bootleg to make sure Freeman would win his seventh straight season opener.

“He has a lot of things to learn,” said Freeman, who had planned to give Mitch Sands, a junior, some reps but didn’t. “If he’s going to be our guy, he still got a long way to go.”

Tight end Ali Meshkin also described Alder’s night in which he completed 22 of 35 passes.

“He did an incredible job,” said Meshkin, who had good reason to praise Alder. The senior caught two touchdowns, one going for 18 yards in the first quarter and the other for 11 yards in the fourth.

Meshkin finished with eight catches for 61 yards. It seemed every time he went out for a pass, Meshkin was wide open, which surprised Meshkin. He’s the tallest player on offense at 6-4.

But there were other stunning plays.

Once CdM saw a teammate stop one of its offensive players. Running back Alex Swigert broke through the middle, bouncing it to the right, where the road to end zone looked as clear the 405 freeway at 2 a.m. But a Sea King knocked him off his stride, gaining 11 yards instead of recording a 39-yard touchdown.

Two plays later, a holding call put the offense back to a spot it never moved far from. At the 46, one yard back. One yard forward. One yard forward. A traffic jam, so CdM punted, pinning Laguna Beach on its own 10.

The Breakers were in desperate need of a break. But with the offense sputtering, they weren’t going anywhere.

“[The Sea Kings] were all over the field,” said Bowman, who after throwing a 78-yard touchdown to receiver Jason Colladay midway through the opening quarter didn’t complete his next past until the two-minute mark in the fourth. “They knew what we were going to run.”

Now that’s why Freeman wasn’t concerned with Laguna Beach.

CORONA DEL MAR 26, LAGUNA BEACH 6

CdM – Meshkin 18 pass from Alder (kick failed), 6:56.

LB – Colladay 78 pass from Bowman (pass failed), 6:30.

CdM – Alder 15 run (kick blocked), 4:07.

SECOND QUARTER

CdM – Harmon 37 pass from Alder (Molnar kick), 4:03.

FOURTH QUARTER

CdM – Meshkin 11 pass from Alder (Molnar kick), 2:47.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CdM – Abbott, 10-78; Harmon, 11-72; Swigert, 6-25; Aldeer, 3-11, 1 TD; R. Townsend, 5-8; Lamons, 1-3; K. Rask, 1-3.

LB – Smith, 5-14; Kaplan, 4-6; Michael, 2-3; Alex, 1-0; Bowman, 8-minus-4; Rouzbeh, 1-minus-7.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CdM – Alder, 22-35-1, 256, 3 TDs.

LB – Bowman, 2-10-1, 79, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CdM – Meshkin, 8-61, 2 TDs; Molnar, 5-71; Haase, 4-53; Harmon, 1-37, 1 TD; Lamons, 1-16; Garmly, 1-8; Harnen, 1-7, R. Townsend, 1-3.

LB – Colladay, 2-79, 1 TD.