Newport reaches launching point
Barry Faulkner
NEWPORT BEACH - Upsets were on special last week in the CIF
Southern Section Division VI football playoffs, but Newport Harbor High
Coach Jeff Brinkley hopes that was a one-night-only affair.
“There’s a lot of good teams in this division and anyone can beat
anyone,” said Brinkley whose No. 2-seeded squad (11-0-1), the only seed
still alive, hosts Kennedy (9-3) in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal.
Kennedy, which knocked off No. 3-seeded La Mirada, 21-14, in the
quarterfinals, has proved it can compete with anyone. The Fighting
Irish’s only losses have come to Division I semifinalist Los Alamitos
(13-7 on Oct. 7), Division VI semifinalist Loara (27-7 on Oct. 14) and
Division IX quarterfinalist Pacifica (27-7 on Sept. 23).
Coach Mitch Olson, in his 13th season, has guided the Empire League
runner-up to at least the quarterfinals five of the last eight seasons,
including a 38-28 quarterfinal loss to Newport Harbor in 1997.
Newport, of course, is no stranger to football in December. The Sailors
are making their fifth semifinal appearance in eight years, their third
in the last four. They are 3-1 in those games, the only loss coming in
1997 to eventual champion Santa Margarita.
Brinkley said last week’s rash of upsets (top-seeded and unbeaten Mayfair
fell to Irvine, 9-7, and Loara topped No. 4 Tustin, 6-3), will help his
players adhere to the program’s penchant for perspective.
“I think our kids realize the semifinals are a launching point to the
finals,” Brinkley said. “But they know we have to get through this game
to get to the finals. This group has the maturity needed to take it one
game at a time.”
Keeping Kennedy in perspective requires a healthy respect for its
balanced offense, as well as a defense which has surrendered just nine
points per game during a current six-game winning streak.
Kennedy, which won its only section title-game appearance in 1971, is
keyed by quarterback Geoff Etherson, running back Kelvin Beatty and
receivers Steve Yaden and Jaiya Howze.
Etherson, a 6-foot, 175-pound junior, has completed 118 of 224 for 1,635
yards and 10 touchdowns, with eight interceptions.
Beatty, a 6-0, 170-pound junior, has 1,145 rushing yards and 16
touchdowns on 240 carries. He has four TDs in the playoffs.
Yaden has 57 receptions for 798 yards, while Howze has 30 for 441.
“They run a lot of screen passes, so our secondary will have a challenge
this week,” Brinkley said.
Harbor’s defense has been more than equal to the challenge all season.
The Tars lead Orange County in scoring defense, allowing just more than
eight points per game. They have surrendered only 23 points the last five
contests, including three shutouts.
“I like the way we’re playing defense,” Brinkley said. “Any time you’re
playing good defense, you have a chance. From the pros on down, the teams
there at the end are always the ones with a good defenses.”
Harbor’s defense, which has given up just 995 rushing yards, is keyed by
linebackers Alan Saenz, Chris Manderino and Mike Tunney.
Newport, on a 10-game winning streak which is second best in school
history, is less balanced than Kennedy offensively, but hardly less
efficient.
An offensive line of tackles Blair Jones and Robert Cole, guards Steve
Wukawitz and Nick Haddy, center Luis Cruz and tight end Nick Langsdorf,
have helped the Tars amass nearly 78% of their 4,163 offensive yards on
the ground.
Senior tailback Andre Stewart has topped the 100-yard mark 11 times this
fall, one short of Wade Tift’s career record. The 5-9, 160-pound
workhorse has 2,017 yards and 22 TDs on 298 carries. He needs just 66
yards to break the school single-season record set by Ray Ohrel in 1996.
He is averaging nearly 238 rushing yards in two playoff wins, 83 more
than his regular-season average.
“It’s a ball-control offense and we’ve been moving the chains,” said
Brinkley, who calls the plays. Newport scored on five straight
possessions against Villa Park and has only two second-half punts in the
playoffs.
When the Sailors throw, junior quarterback Manderino has produced 830
yards and 12 touchdowns, completing 49 of 111 with seven interceptions.
He has also made plays on the ground, rushing for 237 yards and six TDs.
Newport’s receiving corps is led by senior Justin Jacobs (21 catches for
384 yards) and Billy Clayton (16 for 257). Both have scored seven TDs.
Harbor is 18-8 in the postseason during Brinkley’s 14-year tenure and the
Sailors are 27-0-1 their last 28 games against teams not in the Sea View
League.
The two teams share only one common opponent, El Dorado. Kennedy defeated
its league rival, 34-7, on Oct. 22. Harbor handled the Golden Hawks,
22-0, in the first round of the playoffs.
Newport, playing its third playoff game at home for the first time in
school history, is 8-2 in home playoff games in the 1990s.
Friday’s winner advances to meet the winner of the Irvine-Loara
semifinal, either Dec. 10 or 11 at a site to be determined.
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