Two-minute drill

With another impressive scoring output in a 49-20 nonleague football win over Troy High Friday at Fullerton High, Corona del Mar has now scored 141 points in its three season-opening wins.

That is not only the most points in any three-game stretch in the program’s 47-season history, it is also more than the season total produced by 20 CdM teams.

This year’s Sea Kings need only three more TDs to top the point totals posted by four more Sea Kings units.

Another scoring note: CdM needed the first 22 games of its varsity existence, beginning in 1962, to surpass the 141-point plateau.

• CdM, ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, wasted little time posting its scores against Troy (0-2). Four of the visitors’ five offensive touchdowns came on one-play drives. A fifth required a five-play, 31-yard march. All five TD drives started in Troy territory at the 31, 28, 20, 36 and 11.

Adding to their quick-strike capability, Dillon Norton returned the second-half kickoff 92 yards for a score, then, after initially losing the handle on a line-drive punt, scrambled to recover and went the distance for a 57-yard scoring return.

• Estancia (2-1) was frustrated at times with its offensive execution in its 21-6 nonleague home victory over Buena Park Friday, but the Eagles also shut down the Coyotes offense for nearly the whole game.

After Cain Flores scored on a 49-yard screen pass with 45 seconds left in the first quarter, Buena Park never again seriously threatened to score. The closest Buena Park got to the Estancia end zone for the rest of the game was getting to the Eagles 26 midway through the third quarter. That’s when Estancia junior Josh Dominguez recovered a fumble and Eagles senior Carlos Mendez ended a 74-yard drive with a touchdown run to give Estancia a 14-6 lead.

• For the second time in three games, Mendez started slowly before picking it up after halftime.

Mendez, who set the Estancia school single-season record with 1,584 rushing yards last year, had just 22 yards on seven first-half carries Friday. In the second half, however, he carried 14 times for 108 yards, including five straight runs of at least 10 yards at one point.

• Newport Harbor (1-1) struggled to move the ball in a 26-2 nonleague loss to Long Beach Poly Friday at Veterans Stadium.

The Sailors’ best drive came before halftime. During the 11-play, 59-yard march, the Tars recorded three of their five first downs and got inside the Jackrabbits’ one-yard line.

But the drive resulted in no points.

The Jackrabbits capped a goal-line stand by stopping a quarterback sneak on fourth down.

“The way they aligned, we went to the sneak,” Sailors Coach Jeff Brinkley said. “We didn’t get a push up front.”

The rest of the night on the ground didn’t bode well for Newport Harbor.

The Sailors gained only six rushing yards on 13 attempts, compared to the Jackrabbits’ 286 yards on 47 carries.

• Costa Mesa (0-3), which fell, 42-7, Thursday at Irvine, will finally get to play at home after opening the season with three road games.

The Mustangs play at Jim Scott Stadium, the new $9.5 million state-of-the-art facility, Thursday against Santa Ana (2-0), ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Division.

“We minimize big plays [against Irvine], it’s a different ballgame,” said Costa Mesa Coach Jeremy Osso, whose team has been outscored, 132-10.

• Norton, who amassed 205 return yards and 256 all-purpose yards in the game, nearly added a third touchdown return late in the game. He fielded a kickoff at his own 18 and progressed 26 yards, before finally being brought down.

Norton immediately jumped to his feet and contorted his body to display obvious frustration over not being able to break free yet again.

“I really wanted to score another touchdown for my team,” he said later.

• First-year CdM Coach Jason Hitchens was obviously impressed by his team’s explosive effort against a well-respected Troy program.

But he was not about to get ahead of himself after his third straight win in his new position.

When asked about the Battle of the Bay against Newport Harbor Friday night, Hitchens paused, before stating, “I want to enjoy this one tonight. We’ll start preparing for Newport Harbor [Saturday].”

• Special teams proved to be the highlight for Newport Harbor.

Seniors JB Green and Michael Helfrich returned kickoffs for 48 and 37 yards, respectively. Helfrich also twice nailed a punt returner for no gain.

Junior Cecil Whiteside blocked an extra-point attempt with 7:36 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The biggest play on special teams came when Long Beach Poly snapped the ball over the punter’s head that resulted in a safety.

It helped Newport Harbor avoid being shut out for the second time in its last five games dating back to last season.

“We’re playing great on special teams,” said Brinkley, whose team will try to bounce back against Corona del Mar in the annual Battle of the Bay Friday at Newport Harbor.

• Estancia Coach Mike Bargas said he was “just trying to find a spark” when he took out senior quarterback Radames Gutierrez for a series midway through the third quarter. Junior Alek Kirshner directed the offense for the series, completing one pass for nine yards.

Gutierrez later came back into the game and scored on an eight-yard rushing touchdown, his second of the game.

“We needed some kind of a change there to make something happen,” Bargas said. “We needed to settle [Gutierrez] down ... Alek did a nice job, and I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger like that again. It’s got to be a competition.”

Gutierrez, who became the Eagles’ starting quarterback midway through last season after then-senior Mike Morley went down with an injury, said he didn’t mind the coach’s decision.

“I was making some good plays, making mistakes on other plays,” Gutierrez said. “I got really frustrated on one of the plays. I underthrew it and got really frustrated. Coach took me out and let me cool down a little bit.”

• Both Gutierrez and Bargas were appreciative of a big block by sophomore receiver Matt Carlyle in the middle of the field on Gutierrez’s last rushing score.

Bargas said the team works a lot with its receivers on their run blocking.

“[Carlyle] is a sophomore and 130 pounds,” Bargas said. “He plays really courageously.”

• Osso said junior quarterback Todd Davis should start against Santa Ana.

Davis was taken out late in the first quarter after getting sacked for six yards by two defenders.

Osso said Davis could’ve returned, but he decided against it with Irvine leading, 28-7. Davis completed two of nine passes for nine yards, and he threw an interception.

Brian Waldron, who started last year at quarterback, replaced Davis.

• Will there be a Long Beach Poly-Newport Harbor rematch again in the playoffs?

“It could happen again,” said Long Beach Coach Raul Lara, whose team beat the Sailors, 35-14, in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs last season. “From last year, [the Sailors are] more physical. They were young last year. They’re maturing.

“I think they’re going to be a force this year and they’re going to be a real force next year.”

— From staff reports