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.