Corona del Mar quarterback JD Annett scored on a 1-yard keeper on fourth-and-goal with 1:05 left to beat La Serna 30-24 at Davidson Field.

Nolan Scott caught the 2-point conversion pass from Annett to seal the Thursday, Sept. 17, win. The victory pushed Corona del Mar (CdM) to 5-0. La Serna, ranked No. 2 in the San Gabriel Valley, fell to 4-1.

Annett, a junior, threw for a career-high 289 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for two more scores, the OC Register reported. Scott finished with seven catches for 115 yards.

CdM, ranked No. 8 in Orange County, jumped out 13-0 in the first quarter. Annett broke a 36-yard touchdown run, then hit Tucker Murray for a 13-yard score after a fumble recovery at the La Serna 35. Chuck Naylor's 35-yard field goal with four seconds left in the half made it 16-10.

The second half was a seesaw. Four lead changes followed.

La Serna seized a 17-16 lead heading into the fourth quarter after Xavier Nunez capped an 80-yard drive that consumed nearly nine minutes. CdM retook the lead 22-17 when Scott caught a 4-yard touchdown on third-and-goal, set up by a fumble recovery from defensive lineman Troy Merriman. La Serna answered on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Grady Long to Alex Gaytan to go up 24-22 with 4:54 remaining.

Annett then drove the Sea Kings from their own 29, completing passes to Scott and Dylan Paolone before the fourth-and-goal keeper. Coach Kevin Hettig said he looked his players in the eye before calling the play.

The CdM defense forced three turnovers that led to 12 points. Nate Rothman picked off his second interception in as many games, Max Brengel recorded a sack, and Merriman and Cade Dickerson had tackles for loss. The defense held La Serna to 86 rushing yards.

Merriman's brother played on the CdM team that lost to La Serna 49-29 in the 2023 CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS) Division 4 final. Merriman said the team watched film of that game roughly 10 times in preparation and felt the defense did well against the run but still has work to do in pass coverage.

La Serna's Long threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns. The Lancers reached the CdM red zone on their final drive before a pass fell incomplete with one second left.

CdM enters a bye week before opening Bravo League play against Villa Park on Oct. 2 at El Modena High.