Prep football: Nine local grid stars All-CIF

Barry Faulkner

Newport Harbor High senior Andre Stewart, who rushed for 2,404

yards to lead the Sailors to the CIF Southern Section Division VI

football championship last fall, tops nine Newport-Mesa players named

All-CIF by section coaches.

Stewart, the Newport-Mesa District MVP and the Sea View League Offensive

Player of the Year, is Division VI Offensive Player of the Year.

Joining Stewart on the All-CIF Division VI squad are teammates Blair

Jones, Billy Clayton and Alan Saenz.

Costa Mesa junior running back C.J. Zuniga, the Newport-Mesa District

Offensive Player of the Year, is All-CIF Division IX.

Also selected in Division IX are Estancia senior Kyle Westman, Corona del

Mar senior Jay Bottom, as well as Mesa standouts Dave Weir and Luther

Mitchell.

Jeff Brinkley, who guided Newport Harbor to its second CIF crown in six

seasons, is Division VI Coach of the Year.

Stewart, who set school single-season records for rushing yards and

career and single-season 100-yard games (13), was a 5-foot-9, 160-pound

tailback. His quickness and tenacity made him the leading weapon for the

13-0-1 Sailors, who won the Sea View League title, then topped Sea View

rival Irvine, 19-18, in a dramatic section title contest Dec. 10 at

Orange Coast College.

Stewart’s 310-yard performance against Laguna Hills was also a school

single-game record and he finished with 26 touchdowns in his only season

as a starter. A tribute to his toughness, Stewart gained 772 yards after

first contact with a defender, according to Harbor coaches. He will

likely begin his collegiate career at a community college.

Jones, a 6-foot-8, 262-pound offensive tackle, spearheaded a veteran

offensive front as a three-year starter. The most sought-after recruit in

Brinkley’s 14-year tenure at Harbor, he committed to USC Sunday. Lauded

for agility rare for a player his size, Jones was twice All-Newport-Mesa

District and was a first-team All-Sea View performer as a senior.

Clayton, a 6-foot-5 two-way starter, was recognized as a defensive back,

where he started three seasons for the Tars. Perhaps the Sailors most

athletic player, he led the team with six interceptions, despite missing

most of the preleague season with a severe thigh bruise. Clayton, who has

lettered in volleyball and basketball and accepted a volleyball

scholarship to Stanford, also had 19 receptions for 322 yards. He was

twice all-district and all-league.

Saenz, a junior middle linebacker who led the team with 74 tackles,

helped Harbor lead Orange County in scoring defense (8.4 points per

game), including four shutouts in its final seven games. He was the

Newport-Mesa District Defensive Player of the Year.

Zuniga rushed for 2,015 yards and scored 28 touchdowns to help Coach

Jerry Howell’s Mustangs earn a share of the Pacific Coast League crown.

The 5-10, 185-pound Arizona transfer was the MVP of the Daily Pilot’s

All-PCL selections and was named PCL Offensive Player of Year by the

circuit’s coaches.

Westman, a 6-3, 290-pound two-way lineman, was recognized for his work in

the offensive trenches for Coach Dave Perkins. Westman was, however, the

Daily Pilot’s PCL Defensive Co-Player of the Year as an end. He is being

recruited by Fresno State and UNLV.

Bottom, a 6-3, 220-pounder, shared Defensive Player of the Year laurels

with Westman on the Daily Pilot’s picks and was the lone honoree by the

coaches. He sparkled at end and tackle for Coach Dick Freeman’s defense.

The Sea Kings were PCL co-champions after opening the season 0-5.

Weir, a versatile senior who played several positions during his

three-year varsity career, was recognized as an outside linebacker. He

was twice all-district and all-league on defense.

In addition to his defensive prowess, the 6-0, 185-pounder also played

quarterback for the Mustangs. He threw for 812 yards and five TDs and

scored seven TDs with nearly 400 rushing yards.

Mitchell, a 5-8, 300-pound junior offensive guard, combined rare

athleticism with toughness to help anchor an impressive offensive front.

Irvine senior middle linebacker Mike Patterson was Defensive Player of

the Year in Division VI.

Top individual honors in Division IX went to Brea running back Ken

Washington (Offensive Player of the Year), division champion Bonita’s

Riccardo Stewart (Defensive Player of the Year) and Bonita’s Larry Hatley

(Coach of the Year).