Leagues of their own

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - For the first time in 18 years, Back Bay high

school football combatants Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor do not

represent the same league.

However, anyone remotely familiar with this cross-town clash, realizes

the nonleague label on Battle of the Bay XXXVIII will do nothing to

diminish the level of passion both sides bring to Friday’s 7 p.m. kickoff

at Newport Harbor.

And while playoff positioning is all but a nonfactor, both teams are

anxious to correct some problems exposed in disappointing outings last

week.

Newport Harbor (1-0-1), which remains in the Sea View League, surrendered

a safety, an interception, a blocked punt and committed 17 penalties to

help Marina gain a 21-21 tie in Week 2.

CdM (0-2), shifted to the Pacific Coast League, was handled by Pomona,

18-0. Coach Dick Freeman’s Sea Kings, this year’s designated hosts, have

scored just one touchdown thus far and are averaging a mere 101 yards per

game.

“I think (the Sea Kings) are pretty similar to us, in that they are

searching to get this thing hitting on all cylinders,” Newport Coach Jeff

Brinkley said.

The Sea Kings did exactly that last fall, playing what many believe was

their best game of the season in a 28-18 triumph over a then-unbeaten

Newport squad ranked No. 1 in CIF Division VI and No. 5 in the county at

the time.

The “upset” is hardly atypical in this annual seaside showdown, in which

the underdog has won 5 of 10 meetings in the 1990s, including a CIF

semifinal date in 1992. Last year’s win, in the Week 5 league opener,

helped the Sea Kings secure an at-large playoff berth. It also cost the

Sailors their accustomed spot in the postseason.

“It basically killed our season,” Brinkley said of the most recent

meeting, which helped CdM narrow Newport’s series lead to 25-12.

CdM, which enters as a seven-point underdog, will once again try to

confound the prognosticators. Newport is ranked No. 10 in Orange County,

No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division VI, and is 21-0-1 in its last 22 games outside of Sea View competition. What’s more, Newport has won 15 of

18 meetings with the Sea Kings outside of league play.

“We seem to play well against Newport,” said Freeman, who earned his

first Battle of the Bay victory in four tries as head coach last fall.

“Maybe it’s good to be meeting (Newport) now. It may be just the thing to

pull our kids together.”

The game annually pulls together former youth sports teammates, who savor

frequent chances to exercise bragging rights the close proximity to their

rivals affords them.

“I don’t think the fact that it’s not a league game has much to do with

it,” Freeman said. “Our kids want to beat Harbor, but we’re also looking

to improve. Our offensive guys are disappointed with the way things have

gone, so far, and they’re looking to be more productive.”

Senior tailback Grant Estabrook, with 157 rushing yards and the team’s

lone TD on 45 carries, has supplied most of the Sea Kings’ offense. The

Sea Kings fell to Marina, 28-7, in their opener.

Junior quarterback Matt Moore, a Santa Margarita transfer playing in his

first Battle of the Bay, has completed 9 of 22 passes for 85 yards.

Senior tight end Adam Cooper leads CdM receivers with three catches for

44 yards.

Newport, which hammered Orange, 55-6, to open its season, figures to

provide a stiff defensive challenge. The Sailors have allowed only 95

rushing yards this season and a stingy 286 yards of total offense.

The Sailors will attack CdM’s defense with a balanced attack, led by

senior tailback Andre Stewart, who has 249 rushing yards and four TDs on

37 carries.

Junior Chris Manderino makes his first start at quarterback, but Brinkley

said he will share time with sophomore Brian Gaeta.

Manderino has completed 8 of 17 for 121 yards and three TDs, while Gaeta

is 4 of 10 for 45 yards.

Senior Ryan Brill (174 yards and two TDs on 19 carries) is also a

backfield threat for the Tars, who have 656 yards of total offense this

fall.

Seniors Justin Jacobs (five catches for 78 yards and one TD) and Billy

Clayton (70 yards and two TDs on four catches) are the primary receivers.

CdM, which lost to Marina, 28-7, in its opener, should be bolstered

defensively by the return of senior end Jay Bottom, who sat out last week

with a concussion. The Sea Kings may, howver, be without outside

linebacker Blake Hacker, battling an ankle sprain.

Newport has received strong defensive work from ends Nick Langsdorf and

Garrett Troncale, as well as the linebacking trio of Manderino, Alan

Saenz and Mike Tunney.

“We’ve got to get a lot better and clean things up,” Brinkley said.

“We’ve had two pretty sloppy games, including some breakdowns in areas

which typically have not been problems for us.”