Potent offenses prepare

Rick Devereux

The Corona del Mar High football team used its bye week to work on

conditioning and techniques. Last week, the Sea Kings utilized both,

racing out to a 42-6 victory against Calvary Chapel in the Pacific

Coast League opener.

Friday night, CdM (4-2, 1-0 in the PCL) will try to continue

executing well against a tough Northwood team at Newport Harbor High

at 7 p.m.

The Timberwolves (3-1-2, 1-0) beat Corona del Mar, 35-7, last

year. Running back Jeff Keller rushed for a game-high 126 yards last

year against the Sea Kings. Keller has tallied nine touchdowns and

close to 600 rushing yards this year.

But Keller is not the only threat CdM has to worry about.

Quarterback Dan Selway has completed more than 52% of his passes for

close to 850 yards. Receiver Sean Curtis has 37 receptions for close

to 590 yards and four touchdowns.

“Probably the toughest offenses to prepare for are the ones that

can do it all,” Coach Dick Freeman said. “Their quarterback can run

well, too. I’m thinking throwing [Selway] under the tires of a bus

[might be our best defense].”

Freeman said one of the keys to victory will be the battle in the

trenches.

“[Northwood does] really well on the offensive line the last

couple of years,” Freeman said. “We’ve had a problem matching up with

their offensive line. We don’t want to give away any push. We want to

get a stalemate or a win.”

The CdM defensive line has been shuffled around. Carlos Corrales

opened the year as a starting defensive end, but he went down in the

Valencia game Oct. 2 with an ankle injury. Taylor Meehan, an inside

linebacker to start the season, was plugged in at the end spot

against Calvary Chapel and impressed the coaches enough to earn a

starting spot against Northwood.

The Timberwolves run a balanced offense, despite lining up in

mostly passing formations. Foothill averages just under 32 points per

game.

“They do a lot of spread [formations],” Freeman said. “They throw

the ball well and the entire offense blocks well, even the

receivers.”

The Timberwolves run a pressure defense with close to eight men

near the line of scrimmage in the Bear 46 alignment. CdM counters

with a potent offense of its own, scoring more than 29 points per

game. The Sea Kings are just as balanced as Foothill at running and

throwing the ball.

Running back Wess Presson has 697 rushing yards and seven

touchdowns on 91 carries this year. Quarterback Tom Welch has thrown

for 788 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also

has 334 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 54 carries. Kevin Welch

has 389 receiving yards and five scores on 16 receptions.

At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Kevin Welch creates a mismatch on most

defenders he faces.

“We’re going to try to get Kevin on people they don’t want to put

Kevin on,” Freeman said. “We can’t hide Kevin, so when they double

him, we’ll bring backs out of the back field.”