Coronado football falls to 1-6, faces 7-0 Patrick Henry

Coronado High football lost to Morse 19-10 on Oct. 9, dropping the Islanders to 1-6 on the season with four straight defeats.

The road loss left Coronado winless away from home at 0-3 and 0-2 in City League play, according to MaxPreps. The Islanders have been outscored 176-115 through seven games. Their lone win came Sept. 4 against Classical Academy, 34-16.

The season has been a grind. Coronado opened with an 8-7 loss to Hilltop on Aug. 21, then fell 45-7 to Bishop's on Aug. 28. After the Classical Academy victory, the Islanders lost at Maranatha Christian 19-16 on Sept. 18, at Mar Vista 34-27 on Sept. 25, and at home to Madison 35-14 on Oct. 2 before the Morse defeat.

The Coronado Eagle & Journal has a full account of the Morse game, including details on red-zone struggles and secondary breakdowns that Coach Josh Dean identified as areas needing improvement.

Dean, who became head coach this season after six years teaching at Coronado High, told the Eagle & Journal that his players need to focus on winning one play at a time.

The toughest test on the schedule arrives Friday, Oct. 16. Coronado travels to Patrick Henry for a 7 p.m. City League kickoff against a Patriots team that is 7-0 and riding a seven-game winning streak, according to MaxPreps.

Patrick Henry has outscored opponents 273-162 this season. The Patriots opened with wins over La Jolla (35-30) and Mission Bay (41-28), then won at Chula Vista 35-28 on Sept. 4. They beat Otay Ranch 57-33 on Sept. 11, survived a 20-16 road game at Mt. Carmel on Sept. 25, and rolled through their last two opponents: 42-21 over Morse on Oct. 2 and 43-6 over Mount Miguel on Oct. 9.

That Morse result stands out. Patrick Henry beat the same Tigers team by 21 points, while Coronado lost to Morse by nine.

"Patrick Henry is a very confident team. We need to just win the next play," Dean told the Eagle & Journal.

After the Patrick Henry game, Coronado hosts Mira Mesa in a league game on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m., then closes the regular season at home against Kearny on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m.