Tars won’t phone this one in

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - The school’s answering machine thanks callers for

reaching “Fabulous Fairfax High School, home of the roaring Lions.” The

football office, however, may have a different take.

The Los Angeles-based school, a Week 9 nonleague football fill-in for

host Newport Harbor tonight at 7 o’clock, has yet to win a game this

fall.

This does not bode well for Coach Shane Cox’s squad (0-8), as it faces a

Sailor unit which is 7-0-1 and ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section

Division VI and Orange County.

“They’re struggling now, but their kids play hard,” Newport Coach Jeff

Brinkley said. “The one thing you know about them is, their kids love

football, because it’s not an easy thing to be there when the program is

struggling. We have respect for their kids to be out there. It does show

you something.”

The Sailors will hope to emerge unscathed heading into the Nov. 12

showdown at Aliso Niguel, where they could clinch the school’s fifth

outright league crown, ninth overall, in 69 varsity seasons.

“The main thing is to come out of this one healthy,” said Brinkley, who

is confident his team will not take the Lions lightly.

“We want to finish the regular season strong and keep building momentum

heading into the playoffs,” Brinkley said.

Helping to build that momentum thus far has been a powerful offense and a

stingy defense, which posted its first shutout last week.

Newport is averaging 365 yards of offense per game, 78% of which has come

on the ground.

Senior tailback Andre Stewart has run for 1,320 yards and 17 touchdowns

behind an offensive front which Brinkley considers the strength of the

team.

Stewart has also eclipsed the 100-yard plateau eight straight games and

could tie the school single-season record set by Brett Baker in 1997 with

a ninth.

Helping Stewart invade the Lions’ defensive den will be tackles Blair

Jones and Robert Cole, guards Steve Wukawitz and Nick Haddy, center Luis

Cruz, tight end Nick Langsdorf and fullback Travis Trimble.

The Sailors are hardly one-dimensional on offense, as junior quarterback

Chris Manderino has had his hand in six touchdowns the last two weeks

(three rushing and three passing). Manderino has completed 32 of 73 for

592 yards and eight TDs for the season, while rushing for four more TDs.

Last week’s shutout against Woodbridge allowed Harbor to improve to

second in Orange County in scoring defense, yielding a mere 9.5 points

per game. Valencia has given up three fewer points this fall.

The Lions have scored just 54 points in eight games, while surrendering

266, though Brinkley is impressed with two of their linebackers.

“They have a couple 200-pound linebackers who can move and they’ll hit

you,” Brinkley said.

The Fairfax defense surrendered a state-record 583 passing yards,

including eight touchdown tosses, in a 61-6 Western League loss to

Palisades last week.

The Sailors are 24-0-1 their last 25 games against teams not in the Sea

View League.