The honor of wearing jersey No. 2 for the highly regarded Corona del Mar High football team goes far and beyond the playing field as the number represents a player with strong character, leadership, integrity, brotherhood and a commitment to his team.
CdM senior linebacker Christian Brooks, who was the winner of the preseason Jack Elliott Character Award, which includes the distinction of wearing jersey No. 2, finished the season as the school’s all-time leader in tackles.
The award and jersey number are a tribute to Elliott, a former Corona del Mar player who died in 2019 in a boating accident just two months after starting his freshman year at Texas Christian University. Elliott was not playing college football.
“Christian is not only one of the best football players on our team, but he emulates what we believe to be even more important, and that is the character he represents in our Corona del Mar program, which honors Jack Elliott,” Coach Kevin Hettig said. “Along with having great character, Christian just happens to be one of the best players, so it just goes to show that you can be a great kid and a great football player, and that they’re not mutually exclusive.”
In a special ceremony before hundreds of cheering fans at the CdM Athletic Complex, Brooks received the Jack Elliott Character Award in early August before the Sea Kings’ first game. By season’s end, Brooks had surpassed Hoyt Crance as the school’s career leader in tackles as Corona del Mar enjoyed a sensational postseason, advancing to the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 championship game. It was Corona del Mar’s seventh CIF title-game appearance since 2011.
In addition to collecting a school-record 249 tackles in his football career at CdM, Crance was a four-year lettermen in lacrosse, earning All-Orange County honors in 2015. Crance was among the finalists for Orange County Athlete of the Year, won by San Clemente football player Sam Darnold, now playing quarterback for the…
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