Ethan Garbers throws six touchdowns to lead CdM football to commanding win at Huntington Beach

When you haven’t lost a league game since your seniors were in fourth grade, evaluating success against opponents can be relative.

So, after the Corona del Mar High football team extended its league unbeaten streak to 36 games with a commanding 49-6 Sunset League-opening triumph over Huntington Beach on Thursday at Cap Sheue Field, Sea Kings coach Dan O’Shea revealed his method of keeping his players accountable for their mistakes.

“The only thing we practice against every day is perfection,� said O’Shea, who lamented too many penalties and other sporadic disappointments against the Oilers, despite his team following its defensive touchdown on the second play of the game by scoring on six of its first seven offensive possessions.

“Every single day, we preach perfection to our kids and that’s our expectation,� O’Shea added after the Sea Kings, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division 3, improved to 6-0. “It doesn’t matter who we play.�

CdM senior quarterback Ethan Garbers, bound for the University of Washington, threw for six touchdowns and completed 19 of 25 attempts for 375 yards.

Stanford-bound senior receiver John Humphreys amassed 147 yards on four catches, including scoring sprints of 56 and 80 yards. On both scoring plays, Humphreys, who has eight touchdowns in the last three games and 56 touchdown receptions in his career, ran through and away from the secondary.

John Humphreys races to the end zone to complete an 80-yard touchdown catch in Corona del Mar’s Sunset League opener at Huntington Beach on Thursday.

(Jeff Antenore)

Senior Mark Redman had touchdown receptions of 55 and 18 yards, while senior running back Riley Binquist (34 yards) and senior Bradley Schlom (nine yards) were also on the payoff end of Garbers’ touchdown tosses.

Two would-be Garbers TD passes were dropped by wide-open receivers in the end zone, about which O’Shea didn’t seem to be in a forgiving mood.

“A couple dropped [touchdown] passes,� O’Shea said of the missed first-half opportunities, one of which came two plays before a CdM 37-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right early in the second quarter.

And that wasn’t all that made O’Shea’s list of things to improve.

“I thought we were sloppy at times,� O’Shea said. “We gave [the Oilers] a little bit in the passing game, which was disappointing and we had too many penalties [nine for 95 yards]. I don’t think we were very clean on offense; not as clean as we want to be.�

Huntington Beach (1-5) had just five rushing yards and committed three turnovers, but it did produce 188 passing yards, including an 80-yard catch-and-run by Hideo Ray after fielding a Brandon Cannella pass for the Oilers’ lone score late in the first half.

Corona del Mar’s Brock Preston (52) pressures Huntington Beach quarterback Brandon Cannella in a Sunset League opener on Thursday at Cap Sheue Field.

(Jeff Antenore)

“Our run defense and pass rush [that produced three sacks and provided consistent pressure] were solid, but we have a lot of work to do,� O’Shea said. “Edison [which CdM meets Oct. 11 at Davidson Field] is a real good football team and we’re moving on.�

Senior defensive end Chase Zanck pounced on a bobbled shotgun snap for a two-yard scoop-and-score to open the CdM scoring 44 seconds into the contest. Zanck was one of six Sea Kings in on three combined sacks, and Huntington Beach ballcarriers were tackled at or behind the line of scrimmage nine times.

Brock Preston (two), Cole Rener, Redman, Thomas Bouda and Jack Rottler were also in on sacks for CdM.

Ryder Haupt and Jake Salmon each had interceptions for the visitors. Haupt also intentionally passed on a fourth-down interception late in the game, as the resulting incompletion saved his team roughly 30 yards of field position in the process.

Cannella, who entered the game after the Oilers’ ill-fated first series, threw for 133 yards to lead the hosts, for whom Chase Quinn had an interception.

CdM, which moved from the Pacific Coast League to the Sunset League last season, last lost a league game on Nov. 11, 2011.

Huntington Beach’s Chase Quinn intercepts a pass in a Sunset League game against Corona del Mar on Thursday at Cap Sheue Field.

(Jeff Antenore)

Sunset League

Corona del Mar 49, Huntington Beach 6

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Corona del Mar 14 – 21 – 14 – 0 — 49

Huntington Beach 0 – 6 – 0 – 0 — 6

FIRST QUARTER

CdM – Zanck 2 fumble return (Vorhees kick), 11:16.

CdM – Humphreys 56 pass from Garbers (Vorhees kick), 9:02.

SECOND QUARTER

CdM – Schlom 9 pass from Garbers (Vorhees kick), 7:28.

CdM – Redman 55 pass from Garbers (Vorhees kick), 3:52.

HB – Ray 70 pass from Cannella (kick failed), 1:14.

CdM – Humphreys 80 pass from Garbers (Vorhees kick), 0:58.

THIRD QUARTER

CdM – Redman 18 pass from Garbers (Vorhees kick), 9:09.

CdM – Binquist 34 pass from Garbers (Vorhees kick), 4:26.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CdM – Garbers, 3-37.

HB – Bova, 10-13.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CdM – Garbers, 19-25-1, 375, 6 TDs.

HB – Cannella, 10-23-1, 133, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CdM – Humphreys, 4-147, 2 TDs.

HB – Ray, 1-70, 1 TD.

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