Injured John Humphreys comes off bench to help Corona del Mar beat Palos Verdes
John Humphreys did not play in the first half Friday afternoon for the Corona del Mar High football team.
The star senior receiver, bound for Stanford, bruised his right knee in last week’s win at Mountain View St. Francis and said he didn’t feel great in pregame warmups at Palos Verdes.
Standing on the sidelines did not sit well with Humphreys.
“I was getting pretty antsy,†Humphreys said. “By halftime, I was ready to go. I couldn’t just watch my team go out there and play. I wanted to be out there with them.â€
Humphreys made a difference to help Corona del Mar win a battle of teams who share the Sea King as a mascot.
San Fernando flexes its muscle in a game representative of community schools supported by loyal alumni under Friday night lights
His 78-yard touchdown catch from senior quarterback Ethan Garbers on the first play of the fourth quarter helped Corona del Mar pull away for a 20-10 nonleague victory over Palos Verdes.
Corona del Mar (3-0), ranked No. 3 in Southern Section Division 3, withstood a battle from Palos Verdes (2-1), which went into the game ranked No. 4 in Division 4.
“We didn’t play a really clean game, but when you’re not playing well, you’ve just got to battle it out,†Humphreys said. “We battled it out today, and that was awesome to see.â€
Garbers, bound for Washington, completed 20 of 37 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. His touchdown passes to Washington-bound tight end Mark Redman and junior receiver Tommy Griffin in the first half helped Corona del Mar build a 13-3 halftime lead.
A look at how The Times’ top 25 high school football teams fared on Friday.
Palos Verdes went on a six-play drive that was capped by senior quarterback Jake Jellison’s 22-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Rhett Wilken, drawing the hosts to within 13-10 midway through the third quarter.
Humphreys, who finished with four catches for 114 yards and the touchdown after halftime, had the answer in a game that grew chippy, with a brief scuffle and three combined unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
“I think they blitzed on 75% of their defensive plays, and it was difficult,†Corona del Mar coach Dan O’Shea said. “We didn’t pick up the blitz very well. We didn’t get the ball out cleanly. When we did, we were able to get over the top of them for three big touchdowns, for sure, but my hat’s off to their defense.â€
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