Corona del Mar's John Humphreys and Ethan Garbers share Sunset League MVP award in football

Corona del Mar quarterback Ethan Garbers (4) celebrates with receiver John Humphreys (6) after throwing one of two first-half touchdowns to Humphreys in a season opener against Downey at Newport Harbor High on Aug. 23, 2019.

By Daily Pilot Staff

Jan. 9, 2020 4:53 PM PT

Corona del Mar High senior receiver John Humphreys and senior quarterback Ethan Garbers shared the Sunset League MVP award after their historic football seasons helped the Sea Kings win the league title.

The duo led CdM (16-0, 5-0 in league) to a second straight unbeaten Sunset League crown, and the CIF Southern Section Division 3 title and the CIF State Division 1-A championship.

CdM also had senior tight end Mark Redman and senior receiver Bradley Schlom share the Sunset League Offensive Player of the Year award.

Edison senior linebacker Mike Walters earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Edison junior quarterback Braeden Boyles and Newport Harbor junior running back Justin McCoy shared Offensive Back of the Year accolades, while Fountain Valley senior Blake Anderson was the Receiver of the Year.

Edison senior safety Tanner Nelson earned Defensive Back of the Year honors, while CdM junior Thomas Bouda was the Offensive Lineman of the Year.

Humphreys and Garbers helped CdM earn dominant victories in each league game, with a “running clock” implemented in each one due to a lead of 35 points or more in the fourth quarter.

Humphreys, bound for Stanford, finished with 111 catches for 2,001 yards and 32 touchdowns. He led Orange County in all three categories, and the touchdowns tied a county single-season record held by Cypress’ Caine Savage.

Garbers, headed to the University of Washington, completed 341 of 490 passes for 5,035 yards, 71 touchdowns and six interceptions. The yardage and touchdown passes were both county records, while the touchdowns also were a CIF Southern Section record.

Redman, also University of Washington-bound, had 72 catches for 979 yards and 13 touchdowns. Schlom had 91 catches for 1,151 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Walters, bound for UC Davis, led the Chargers with 100 tackles. He helped Edison (9-3, 4-1) finish second in the league and advance to the quarterfinals of the Division 3 playoffs, where the Chargers lost 35-27 to La Habra. Walters also had 10 tackles for a loss. At running back, he finished with 118 carries for 552 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Boyles completed 120 of 208 passes for 1,974 yards for Edison, with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also had 53 carries for 321 yards and three touchdowns.

McCoy helped Newport Harbor (9-4, 2-3) finish fourth in the league and advance to the semifinals of the Division 9 playoffs, before losing 58-17 at eventual champion Palmdale Highland. McCoy had 260 carries for 1,249 yards and 21 touchdowns, adding 47 catches for 472 yards and four more scores.

Anderson finished with 55 catches for 920 yards and nine touchdowns for the sixth-place Barons (3-7, 0-5).

Chargers safety Nelson had 40 tackles, three tackles for a loss and three blocked punts. He also had 58 carries for 450 yards and six touchdowns on offense.

First-team All-Sunset League honorees included CdM junior free safety Tommy Griffin, senior linebacker Mason Gecowets, senior defensive lineman Chase Zanck, senior cornerback Chandler Fincher, senior lineman Vinny Provenza, senior defensive end Carter Duss, senior safety Zack Green and senior center Tanner Tomlinson.

Edison senior defensive end Trent Fletcher was a first-team selection, along with teammates senior lineman Cade Jones, junior lineman Jacob Parsons, junior lineman Ryan Easterday, senior defensive end/tight end Kaleb Joyce and senior receiver Cole Koffler.

Newport Harbor senior receiver Aidan Goltz was a first-team honoree, as were Sailors senior lineman Carter Mathisrud, senior linebacker Johnny Brigandi and senior linebacker Chad Koste.

First-team selections from Huntington Beach included senior tight end/linebacker Christian Moore, senior defensive lineman Brandon Bova and sophomore linebacker EJ Riederich. The Oilers finished 2-9 overall and 1-4 in the league for fifth place, losing 35-8 to Cypress in the first round of the Division 7 playoffs.

Fountain Valley senior safety Jerry Ngo and senior center Brad Sweeney were first-team picks.

Second-team honorees included CdM junior Hunter Schimmelphenig, junior Connor Brooks, junior Brock Preston, senior Cole Rener, junior Kevin Ledesma and junior Mikey Wein.

Edison senior Tanner Gunnell, senior Bryce Gilbert, junior Jeremy Alcorn, senior Trenton Jordahl, senior Mateo Lopez and sophomore Nico Brown earned second-team accolades.

Newport Harbor junior Kaden Stowell, senior Michael Morrison, sophomore Grayson Simon, junior Chris Jover and senior Austin Muro were second-team selections, while Huntington Beach had senior Michael McCormick, senior Joshua Toafa, sophomore Elijah Anderson, sophomore Hideo Ray and junior Jacob Sanden named to the second team.

Fountain Valley junior Jimmy Russell, junior Evan Frink, junior Derek Kubota, junior Justin Curti and senior James Martinez all earned second-team honors.

Among the other major league awards, Los Alamitos senior Zatyvion Miller earned the Defensive Lineman of the Year honor, while Griffins senior Giovanni De Leon was the Linebacker of the Year. The Griffins finished third in league play.

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