Football: CdM Rips Through Westminster in Semifinals

Corona del Mar will get a chance to win at third consecutive Southern Section title next week following its one-sided dismissal of fourth-seeded Westminster on Friday.

The top-seeded Sea Kings scored on their opening possessions of both halves and scored enough points—and got a strong enough effort from their defense—for the running clock to be enforced in the fourth quarter against the Golden West League champs on their home turf.

CdM will carry its 23-game winning streak to Orange Coast College on Friday in a rematch of last year’s Southern Division IX championship. Corona del Mar will face second-seeded Garden Grove, which scored a 49-27 victory over fourth-seeded Irvine.

When they played a year ago for the title, Corona del Mar scored a 35-10 victory over the Argonauts.

Score: Corona del Mar 37, Westminster 14

Key Stats: Luke Napolitano completed 12 of 15 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown, and ran for a second touchdown, for Corona del Mar.

Pivotal Moment: Westminster had to play a near-perfect game to take down the Sea Kings. That meant not giving up a big play because easy points is not something that most teams can overcome. But the easy points came midway through the second quarter when Chad Redfearn returned an interception 46 yards for a 14-0 lead.

Records: Corona del Mar (13-0), Westminster (8-5)

Notes: Napolitano had a hand in two of CdM’s three first-half scores. His 4-yard pass to Connor Sage gave the Sea Kings a 7-0 lead with 4:22 left in the first quarter, and his 1-yard run with 30 seconds left in the half made it 20-0 (the PAT kick was blocked). … Napolitano wasn’t the only one who put up some good numbers. Running back Cole Martin rushed 15 times for 140 yards, including a 63-yard score early in the third quarter for a 27-0 lead. …  

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Anthony Battista, who rushed for 66 yards, scored from 13 in the third quarter, and Jason Neiger’s 36-yard field goal made it 37-0 with 4:15 left in the third quarter. … Westminster scored both its touchdowns in the fourth quarter, when the teams used a running clock. ... Corona del Mar has outscored its three playoff opponents, 123-17. ... The championship game between CdM and Garden Grove has been anticipated since the outset of the season. Both schools have been 1-2 in the Southern Division rankings all year. ... CdM won its first title, 14-13, over Beckman in 2011.