CdM nails down CIF playoff berth

Barry Faulkner

The Laguna Beach High football team didn’t go down without a fight

Friday night against Pacific Coast League visitor Corona del Mar.

But first-year Breakers’ coach Jimmy Nolan appeared willing to

take that to a literal conclusion as catalyst to an emotional and

verbal midfield confrontation with CdM Coach Dick Freeman after the

Sea Kings’ 35-8 victory.

The win clinched third place and a guaranteed CIF Southern Section

Division IX playoff berth for CdM (6-4, 3-2 in league), which was

hurried onto its bus after Laguna Beach players were ordered by their

coaches not to shake hands after the game.

But CdM’s triumph might have served as an undercard, had not

cooler heads, particularly that of Freeman, prevailed.

As Freeman and Nolan met at midfield, Nolan appeared to be yelling

at Freeman. Freeman attempted to shake Nolan’s hand, but Nolan raised

his hand above his shoulder to avoid it.

Assistant coaches and officials from both schools stepped in to

separate the coaches, but Nolan circled a growing crowd to unleash a

clearly audible profanity at Freeman, before being turned away and

leaving the field.

The entirety of the comments from Nolan, whose upcoming

professional boxing debut gained notoriety in a recent newspaper

story, were unclear.

Freeman, however, said Nolan’s initial postgame tirade might have

been taken as an invitation to fight.

“If we would have been at a mall, that’s probably how I would have

interpreted it,” Freeman said.

The game featured seven dead-ball personal foul penalties, four of

which were called on CdM. There were offsetting personal fouls --

both teams flagged at the same time -- on two occasions.

Laguna Beach had one player ejected after, CdM coaches alleged, he

jumped on a Sea King player and began punching him. As the ejected

Laguna Beach player left the field, he appeared to deliver an obscene

hand gesture toward a referee.

No CdM players were ejected, much to the relief of Freeman, whose

team will seek its first CIF playoff victory since 1995 next week.

“We told our guys [before the game] not to retaliate,” Freeman

said.

Laguna Beach had difficulty retaliating between the whistles as

the visitors seized a 35-0 lead.

Wess Presson returned the opening kickoff 40 yards to the CdM

43-yard line, then capped a seven-play scoring drive with a 15-yard

run. Tim Hummel added the first of his five conversion kicks and the

Sea Kings were off and running.

Presson covered 42 yards on CdM’s second touchdown drive, a

five-play, 51-yard procession capped when Presson ran up the middle

from 9 yards out with 8:23 left in the first half.

Laguna Beach (4-5-1, 0-4-1) turned the ball over on downs on three

of its first four possessions, all three times in its own territory,

to help CdM build on its lead.

Tom Welch sprinted 49 yards for a touchdown on an option keeper to

finalize a three-play drive for a 21-0 cushion.

Welch, playing cornerback, returned an interception 24 yards for a

touchdown two plays into the second half and CdM needed just two

plays to score its final touchdown after Laguna Beach, once again,

failed on fourth down deep in its own territory.

Presson finished with 131 yards and three TDs on 15 rushing

attempts, upping his season rushing total to 1,114 yards.

Welch carried three times for 66 yards and completed 4 of 7 passes

for 44 more, including three connections with twin brother Kevin

Welch (29 receiving yards).

Sophomore Dio Johnson gained 27 rushing yards on nine attempts to

lead a solid performance by CdM’s second-string offense.

The Breakers’ lone touchdown came on a 10-play, 57-yard,

fourth-quarter drive against CdM defensive reserves.