Prep football: Trial mix

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - The Corona del Mar High football team isn’t

scheduled to play under the lights until Sept. 9, but the Sea King

coaching staff has already generously padded the electric bill by

extending post-practice meetings to discuss personnel well into the

evening.

“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to sort things out,� Sea Kings Coach

Dick Freeman said. “And a lot of it is linemen. “We’ll propose one

scenario where we have one guy at guard, another at tackle and two guys

backing them up. Then, we’ll consider, ‘What if we do this, defensively?’

We’re trying to avoid people going both ways. We had beaten it to death

before we had even put the pads on, but we still had to see who would run

over someone.�

While practicing in full gear has helped educate the coaches about

their players, Friday’s three-way scrimmage against Villa Park and

Pacifica should also go a long way toward determining starting

assignments.

Further adjustment, however, will likely come after the regular-season

opener with Cypress.

Here’s the initial position-by-position breakdown:

Quarterback: With senior Evan Burden, junior Fountain Valley transfer

Dylan Hendy and junior Joe Barber still waging battle, this may prove to

be the most difficult piece of the personnel puzzle to solve.

Burden, taking over for the injured Matt Moore, started the final

eight games last fall, completing 35 of 81 for 455 yards, with three

touchdowns and five interceptions. Though not blessed with the strongest

arm of the trio, his leadership and experience are valuable intangibles.

Barber, who broke his thumb the same game Moore was injured and missed

the remainder of the season, has the strongest arm, according to

Freeman. He was 2 for 8 last fall for 27 yards.

Hendy, meanwhile may have the best blend of passing skill and

footwork, Freeman said, but his lack of varsity experience renders him

unproven.

“It could take a couple games to determine who will start,� Freeman

said.

Junior Sean Hildebrandt should quarterback the junior varsity, while

Jonathan Hubbard, the Offensive MVP at quarterback for last year’s

freshmen, will join Moore making a transition to receiver.

Running backs: Grant Estabrook, the Daily Pilot Pacific Coast League

Offensive Player of the Year, moved on to Arizona State and took roughly

half of the offensive production (1,043 rushing yards) with him.

Senior Blake Hacker, an all-league outside linebacker last fall, is

the front-runner here, but Freeman said a lack of size up front has

prompted a shift from the I formation to split backs.

Hacker carried 19 times for 96 yards last year, when a severe ankle

sprain limited his backfield duty. The PCL wrestling champion at 160

pounds, he is strong beyond his 5-foot-6, 170-pound frame, and he will be

no treat for tacklers.

“We expected a lot out of him last year, but he had that high ankle

sprain, which pretty much took him out of the plans,� Freeman said. “He

missed about five games and even when he came back, he was still sore.�

Freeman, who needs Hacker’s presence on defense, will not ask him to

carry the ball 30 times a game.

Instead, sophomores Mark Cianciulli and Chris Bello, as well as

fullback types Justin Wald, Matt Boyce and Matt Cooper, figure to take

their turn.

Cianciulli (5-8, 158), the MVP on last year’s freshmen team, and Bello

(5-8, 142) won’t strike fear into the hearts of defenders. But Freeman

believes they can be effective.

Junior Luis Najar, a standout as a freshman who took last year off,

could also be a factor, while Freeman also lists senior newcomer Jason

Savopolos as a prospect.

Whoever carries the ball will be asked to hit the hole quickly, as

part of a deemphasis on (smaller) offensive linemen holding their blocks,

a requirement in the I.

Receivers: Senior Eric Snell and junior Steven Ward headline what

Freeman considers a quality group.

Snell (6-0, 190), an All-PCL safety as a junior, leads all receivers

returning with six catches for 80 yards in ’99. A three-sport performer

(continuing on in basketball and baseball) He is strong and athletic.

Ward (5-9, 170), the only returner to start all 11 games on offense,

caught five passes for 56 yards as a sophomore.

Moore, who completed nine passes for 85 yards before being sidelined

by a broken rib and collapsed lung in Week 3, will dedicate his 4.5 speed

in the 40-yard dash to the other end of pass routes this fall.

“We’re kind of spotting Moore right now, but he is coming along really

well,� Freeman said. He is also competing for time at safety.

Senior Michael DiSano, sophomores K.C. Rawlins and Jeff Reed, as well

as Hildebrandt and Hubbard, add depth.

Tight end: Senior Taumata Grey, who missed much of his junior season

with injuries, has been shifted from fullback to tight end and is the

expected starter. At 6-2, 220, he brings a physical presence, as well as

athleticism. He is also penciled in at middle linebacker, however, which

may wind up costing him time on the offensive side of the ball.

“We’ve got to keep from getting him tired,� Freeman said.

Sophomore Kris Cooper and senior all-league outside linebacker Nick

Prosser should also be called upon.

Junior Tyler McClellan and senior Charlie Alshuler supply additional

depth.

Offensive line: Senior Matt Marston (6-4, 210) started 10 games at

tackle last fall, but plans are to shift him to guard.

Senior Peter Skoutelas 6-1, 230) started four games at guard as a

junior and could solidify the other spot, but question marks abound with

this group.

Senior Dave Richardson (6-5, 300) is being counted upon to anchor this

unit and Freeman hopes the 25 pounds he shed in the offseason will help

him contribute on defense, as well.

Richardson shores up one tackle spot with junior Steven Russell (6-2,

236), who started one game a year ago, the early front-runner at the

other.

Richardson, whose best moments have come on defense his first two

varsity campaigns, spent the summer attending camps at Michigan and Penn

State and could wind up with a Division I scholarship if he performs to

expectations.

“He could really earn himself something this year,� Freeman said.

Center is a wide-open battle, with junior Adam Dunn (6-0, 203) and

senior Scott Biggs (6-2, 180) among the leading candidates.

Skoutelas could also play some center.

Junior Steve Shipman (6-3, 216), senior Jeremy Rich (6-2, 232) and

sophomore John Daley (6-0, 205) are also in the picture, according to

Freeman, who believes the scrimmage will help crystallize things up

front.

Defensive line: A two-sided coin here -- no clear standouts, but

plenty of potential contributors -- could allow Freeman, the team’s

defensive coordinator, to attempt a long-pondered experiment.

“I’ve always wanted to rotate guys on defense to have fresh guys on

the field,� said Freeman, who could shuffle as many as a dozen players at

his four spots on the defensive front.

The revolving-door ends are McClellan (6-1, 190), Wald (6-1, 225),

Biggs, Marston, Shipman and Sean Cobb (5-11, 210).

At the tackle spots, Richardson, Russell, Skoutelas, Rich,junior

Thomas Scheck (6-2, 280), sophomore Jayson Skalla (5-9, 200), and

sophomore Arizona transfer Lucien Knotter (5-9, 195) are among those

trying to earn favor.

Linebackers: This should be the strength of the team with Prosser and

Hacker returning with first-team all-league credentials.

Prosser, an All-Newport-Mesa District selection, has been sidelined

early by illness, but should return to anchor the defense. Prosser was

also the special teams player of the year in ’99.

Gray could be the man in the middle, while sophomore Matt Boyce (6-0,

195), back near the shore after starting for Mater Dei’s top freshmen

squad, figures to play a lot inside and outside.

“With Hacker and Gray both starting on offense, I’d like to use

(Boyce) to spell both of them on defense,� Freeman said.

Matt Cooper and Savopolos add depth.

Secondary: Snell sparkled at free safety last season, but Freeman

would like to shift him to strong safety, where his size and tackling

ability will enhance his effectiveness.

Such a move, however, is contingent on whether a free safety candidate

can emerge. Among those is Moore, the team’s fastest player, as well as

Matt Cooper and senior Jon-Luke Del Fante.

Kris Cooper has also shown ability at strong safety.

Alshuler, a second-team all-league choice last fall, returns at

cornerback, where Burden is also a probable starter.

Should Burden emerge atop the quarterback heap, however, Cianciulli,

Hubbard and DiSano could wind up in a featured role.

Keith Long, the Defensive MVP on last year’s freshman team and a

probable starter at free safety, has elected to concentrate on baseball,

where he was started some at shortstop for the varsity last spring.

Kicking game: Senior Rory McKeever was perfect on 15 conversion kicks

a year ago and he also booted field goals of 39 and 29 yards.

But Del Fante is also a talented kicker, who has shown more accuracy

and may be asked to kick everything but long field-goal attempts.

McKeever will handle the punting chores.

Either Marston or Matt Elliston will long snap, while Ward is the

holder.