Corona del Mar Bulldozes Los Amigos, 42-7, to Advance to Semifinals

An experienced Corona del Mar team proved too much for a Los Amigos team returning to the playoffs after two years of rebuilding. The Sea Kings capitalized on every mistake the Lobos made and rolled to a 42-7 victory in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division quarterfinals Friday night at Estancia High.

A center snap that sailed over the Los Amigos punter’s head set up Corona del Mar at the Lobos' one-yard line, and, one play later, quarterback Brett Lawson sneaked in for a touchdown that gave the Sea Kings a 14-0 lead with 4:13 left in the first quarter.

On Los Amigos' next possession, the Sea Kings partially blocked the punt by senior David Moore, allowing Aaron White to scoop up the ball and return it to the Lobos' 10. This time, it was senior running back Erik Fisher who burst through for a touchdown run that pushed the lead to 21-0 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.

And when the Sea Kings later punted, the Lobos misplayed the recovery and Corona del Mar junior receiver Chris Johnstone grabbed the ball at the 50-yard line. After Lawson hit senior Matt English for a 34-yard pass play to the Lobos' five-yard line, Fisher finished the short drive with a touchdown run to make it 28-0 with 7:30 left in the quarter.

Lawson became the Sea Kings' single-season record holder for touchdown passes with his 24^th of the season. He found Josh Giger on a post pattern for a 34-yard connection in the first quarter that broke a scoreless tie.

But Lawson credited the defense and special teams for Friday's victory. “We got the ball at the one and the 10. I mean, you can’t really ask for anything else; those guys played their butts off,” Lawson said.

Los Amigos (9-3) reached the playoffs this year after winning a total of three games the past two seasons combined. The Lobos defeated Costa Mesa, 38-7, in last week's first-round game, but coach Carl Agnew said they knew they had to be even better against Corona del Mar, and they made too many mistakes.

“We have to execute and we didn’t execute tonight,” he said.

Los Amigos was able to get on the scoreboard with 10:38 left in the game thanks to an eight-play drive that ended with Jerry Saldivar plunging in from the one. That followed a halfback option pass from Anthony Magana to Felix Cruz to the Sea Kings' three.

Corona del Mar (10-2) advances to the semifinals for the third time in four years. Getting that close in recent years helped give the team high aspirations for this season. The Sea Kings let the Pacific Coast League title slip away with a home loss to Beckman in the final game of the regular season. But that may have been enough to refocus them for the playoffs.

“Our guys focused all week," coach Scott Meyer said. "They didn’t look past [Los Amigos] at all, and when our guys prepare well, that’s the time when we usually get a pretty positive result.”

The Sea Kings will play Laguna Beach in the semifinals on Friday, after the Breakers knocked off third-seeded Segerstom, 51-40, at Laguna Beach.

Lawson said Corona del Mar will stay focused on that game, but players also have their sights set on going all the way to the final. He said the team’s post-game chant has changed from “Kings,” to “Chase the Ring.”

“We have to go one game at a time, and we want to win next week, but we’re all about the [championship] ring,” Lawson said.