The Battles of the Bay

The Battles of the Bay - there have been 38 of them since it all

started in 1962, and Newport Harbor High owns a 26-12 advantage against

Back Bay rival Corona del Mar. The Sailors of Newport have probably gone

in as the “favorite” in at least 34 of them, but often it’s the Sea Kings

who have sprung the big upset, ala the stunner in the opener, a 13-12

loss for Corona del Mar which seemed more like a victory considering the

situation - Corona del Mar was theunderdog by such a big margin.

Here’s a brief look at those battles, always the talk of the town,

going in and in the aftermath with memories for the players there for a

long, long time.

1963 - Newport Harbor 13, Corona del Mar 12: Quarterback Steve Shedd

found Jeff Pierose with a 16-yard touchdown pass with 36 seconds left as

Harbor overcame a 12-7 deficit. Corona del Mar had opened 0-8 in 1962 and

did not play Newport. It was the season-opener and CdM went on to post a

2-7 record. Harbor went on to a 4-5 overall record.

1964 - CdM 20, Newport Harbor 0: An upset, Steve Bayless scored from 5

yards out with 0:49 left in the half and George Carpenter scored on a

15-yard run with 47 seconds left in the game. CdM finished the season

4-4-1, Newport sunk to 2-7.

1965 - Newport Harbor 13, CdM 7: Newport was the underdog in Wade

Watts’ first start as Harbor’s coach. Steve Reece scored on a 10-yard run

and Ron Peca returned a punt 88 yards. Tom Westgate had an 8-yard TD run

for CdM, but the second half was scoreless.

1966 - Newport Harbor 28, CdM 0: Jeff Baker scored three touchdowns

for Newport and Dave Wallers ran 42 yards for the other TD.

1967 - Newport Harbor 20, CdM 0: Ed Washko scored once and threw a

33-yard scoring pass to Stu Aldrich as Harbor played a form of

“smashmouth” with its single wing offense. Bob Hancock got the other TD

with a short run late in the game.

1968 - Newport Harbor 21, CdM 6: Ron Troyono and Bill Shedd shared

quarterback duties for Newport and each tossed a TD pass (to Bill Martin

and Darel Blood, respectively. Lee Moore ran for the other TD.

1969 - Newport Harbor 14, CdM 6: Linebacker Bill Hendershot ran 44

yards with an interception for the first Newport TD, and quarterback Bill

Shedd capped a 56-yard mach with a 14-yard TD run in the third quarter.

Rick Petros had CdM’s touchdown, a 1-yard dive in the second half.

1970 - Newport Harbor 7, CdM 0: A 38-yard punt return by Mike

Easterling to the CdM 9 and a subsequent TD run by Alex Moad broke open

the scoreless tie in the final minute. Bob Tripp had two interceptions

for the Tars.

1971 - CdM 7, Newport Harbor 0: Dave Holland’s Sea Kings, en route to

an Irvine League championship, watched Bob Ferraro rush for 205 yards on

28 carries, including the final 50 of a 57-yard second-quarter drive for

the only score.

1972 - CdM 21, Newport Harbor 0: Quarterback Joe Tosti threw two

touchdown passes and ran for another as the Sea Kings handed Newport

Coach Don Lent back-to-back defeats. Tosti’s targets for TDs were Bob

Palmer and Pat Walt.

1973 - Newport Harbor 31, CdM 3: Quarterback Steve Bukich scored on

touchdown runs of 29, 1 and 14 yards and Art Sorce kicked a 39-yard field

goal as the Sailors punished CdM. CdM finished 3-6; Lent’s Sailors were

9-2.

1974 - Newport Harbor 16, CdM 6: Sorce kicked three field goals, from

51, 37 and 25 yards out, and junior tailback Steve Foley ran for 135

yards on 18 carries. Brian Theriot’s 4-yard TD run was Harbor’s only TD.

Mike Ferraro scored from short yardage for CdM’s touchdown.

1975 - Newport Harbor 33, CdM 13: Steve Foley ran for three TDs and

Gordon Adams clicked for 123 yards in the first half en route to a 20-7

lead and Corona del Mar was never able to recover from a disastrous

start.

1976 - Newport Harbor 7, CdM 6: Two goal-line stands by Newport in the

waning moments saved the victory at Orange Coast College. Craig Lyons had

Newport’s TD on a 6-yard keeper. CdM threatened in the late going, twice,

but was turned away.

1977 - Newport Harbor 10, CdM 7: Bryon Ward ran 18 yards up the middle

with 6:38 left to put it away. Newport led, 3-0, for most of the game on

a 27-yard field goal by Mark Hales. Bruce Batchellor ran 63 yards on a

punt return for a CdM touchdown. CdM had just one first down.

1978 - Newport Harbor 9, CdM 7: Bob da Silva’s 36-yard field goal with

0:05 left lifted Harbor to the win. Kurt Brockman’s 18-yard pass to Jim

Shollin in the first half had CdM in command. Newport got close with a

Mike Johnson touchdown after he had run 49 yards to get the Sailors in

range.

1979 - Newport Harbor 21, CdM 7: Alan Gaddis threw two touchdown

passes to Chris Cates and the defense came up with three interceptions to

stifle the Sea Kings. Scott Giem got the other TD from 2 yards out.

Cates’ TD catches were for 54 and 16 yards.

1980 - Newport Harbor 15, CdM 0: It was Harbor’s eighth straight

victory in the series. Pat Evans scored from short yardage and Gary

Parrish passed to Tom Grandeur from 36 yards out. Kirk Norton had a

33-yard field goal.

1981 - CdM 6, Newport Harbor 0: Corona del Mar got the winning margin

on a third-and-32 pass play, as quarterback Eric Woods passed to Chris

White, who was all alone down the sidelines, and he gathered the ball in

and scored with 41/2 minutes left.

1982 - Newport Harbor 21, CdM 7: The win sent Mike Giddings’ Sailors

into the CIF playoffs. Tailback Steve Brazas scored three TDs, the final

a 32-yard dash with 5:37 left to ice the game. CdM’s score was a Paul

Watson to Don Pryor TD pass from 50 yards out to tie it at 7-7 in the

third quarter.

1983 - Newport Harbor 7, CdM 3: The Sailors clinched the Sea View

League championship with the victory. Steve Brazas scored on a 1-yard

run, and CdM was on the boards with a 40-yard field goal by Brett Hughes.

1984 - Newport Harbor 34, CdM 8: Sea View League co-champion Newport

Harbor got four touchdowns from tailback Fritz Howser, including a

72-yard scoring dash. Quarterback Shane Foley was 14 of 21 for 192 yards

and a 22-yard TD pass to Ho Truong. Sean Turner scored for CdM and Bobby

Hatfield ran for the 2-point conversion.

1985 - CdM 15, Newport Harbor 14: Probably the most dramatic decision

of the series, considering the ramifications. CdM, 4-6 and going nowhere,

rallied from a 14-0 deficit to knock Newport out of sole possession of

the Sea View title and the No. 1 seed in the CIF Playoffs. Mitch Melbon

hit Chris Greco from 3 yards out with 2:40 left, then went ahead on a

two-point conversion on a pass to Sean Turner.

Newport quarterback Shane Foley had a pair of TD passes and had the

Sailors within range in the last seconds before CdM held on.

1986 - CdM 13, Newport Harbor 10: Another 4-6 season for CdM, another

victory over Newport, this time wrecking Harbor’s chances for CIF. Kurt

Ehmann had three of five CdM interceptions. Matt Patterson had the

winning touchdown with a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.

1987 - CdM 6, Newport Harbor 0: CdM won its third straight over

Newport, driving 73 yards on 12 plays to open the third quarter. Mitch

Melbon completed 11 of 15 for 135 yards. Matt Patterson plunged in from

the 2 on third-and-inches to lift CdM into the Sea View League

championship after a 1-5 start.

1988 - CdM 27, Newport Harbor 8: En route to the CIF Division VI

championship, CdM ran up a 21-0 lead with touchdowns by tight end Jeff

Jackson, a 3-yard run by Brian Lucas and Brett Allen’s 16-yard return

with a blocked punt. Greg Haack had a 38-yard scoring run for CdM, which

finished 12-0-2.

1989 - Newport Harbor 8, CdM 7: The Sea Kings repeated as CIF

champions, but Harbor got the big one with a two-point conversion, Wayne

Fraser sweeping the left side. Newport scored on a Steve Scheck TD from

short yardage after Todd Farley ran 61 yards to the CdM 27. CdM opened

the scoring on a TD run by quarterback Todd Kehrli.

1990 - CdM 13, Newport Harbor 3: In the Sea View League opener, CdM

quarterback Todd Kehrli passed to receiver Jason Clark for a 47-yard

touchdown pass after Tom Hess had put CdM in the lead with a 25-yard

field goal. Hess iced it with another field goal from 28 yards out with

6:00 left.

1991 - Newport Harbor 27, CdM 0: Brandon Finney ran for 169 yards on

30 carries and a 2-yard TD run, Mike Ofer threw touchdown passes to

Justin McIntee (10 yards) and Darin Mangnall (4 yards) and Tony Mancuso

had a 27-yard touchdown run as Harbor won with ease.

1992 - CdM 17, Newport Harbor 0: Matt Evans led the CdM assault with

two touchdown passes, completing 14 of 23 for 183 yards, including

scoring passes to Chris Quinn and Tom Hess for 22 and 17 yards,

respectively. Newport was on the wrong end of a 307-159 total yardage

statistic.

1992* - Newport Harbor 28, CdM 21: One for the ages. Down, 21-13, in

the CIF Division IV semifinals before 5,400 at Newport, the Sailors

rallied with Gregg Williams’ 22-yard TD pass to Chad LaBass and

subsequent two-point pass to LaBass, then got the ball back when CdM lost

the fifth of seven fumbles. On fourth-and-six Williams found Mike Freeman

for 14 yards and a first down, and later, with 1:20 left, Wade Tift burst

30 yards on a draw play for the winning touchdown. It was the Battle of

the Bay II, and remains one of the great high school football games

played, anywhere.

1993 - CdM 23, Newport Harbor 0: J.R. Walz had a pair of touchdowns

from short yardage and Chris Taylor caught a 7-yard TD pass from Aaron

Perlmutter. Harbor, with All-CIF back Wade Tift unavailable because of a

dislocated shoulder, shot itself in the foot with five fumbles, losing

three of them.

1994 - Newport Harbor 7, CdM 6: In one of the more memorable finishes,

CdM had the Sailors on the ropes, deep in NH territory, only to fumble

the center snap, allowing Jack Hogan to recover with 0:11 left. John

Giordani scored a TD for Newport after a Scott Sanderson interception,

and J.J. DiCesare had CdM’s touchdown on a 4-yard run. Harbor finished

14-0 with a CIF championship.

1995 - Newport Harbor 7, CdM 3: Chris Morrell’s 1-yard touchdown run

with 1:07 left lifted the Sailors to victory. Jeremy Mason’s 11-yard punt

return to CdM’s 33 set up the winning drive. CdM’s field goal was a Jimmy

Keane boot from 40 yards out in the second quarter.

1996 - Newport Harbor 55, CdM 8: A complete blowout, Harbor piled up

607 total yards. Ray Ohrel ran for 203 yards and three TDs, Danny Pulido

caught four passes for 130 yards, including a 73-yard payoff, Brad LaBass

had a 48-yard scoring reception and reserve Terence Felix ran 87 yards

for a touchdown.

1997 - Newport Harbor 42, CdM 20 - Five first-half turnovers which led

to three Newport touchdowns killed the Sea Kings. Brett Baker scored

three touchdowns and had two of Harbor’s four interceptions. Baker ran

for 132 yards on 17 carries, scoring from 3 and 55 yards out.

1998 - CdM 28, Newport Harbor 18: CdM stunned the Sailors with a 28-6

lead in the fourth quarter as Nate Lemmerman (27 carries, 105 yards and a

1-yard TD), Mike Bergey (8-for-15 for 155 yards and 2 TDs) and Hunter

MacDonald (a 42-yard interception return for a TD and a 46-yard scoring

pass from Bergey) overwhelmed Newport.

1999 - Newport Harbor 35, CdM 3: Andre Stewart, on his way to All-CIF

honors, and Newport, on its way to the CIF championship, had their way

with CdM. Stewart ran for three touchdowns from 3, 39 and 2 yards out,

Chris Manderino had a 63-yard run for a TD and Ryan Brill had a 13-yard

TD run.

-- compiled by Roger Carlson