Prep football: Newport sets sail against Lions

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Winter sports coaches at Westminster High shouldn’t

have to wait much longer for the services of Lion football players.

Barring an upset of huge proportions, Westminster should be turning in

its gear Saturday, after visiting Newport Harbor Friday at 7 p.m. in the

opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs.

Newport (8-2) is the No. 4 seed and defending Division VI champion,

with 18 playoff wins in the 1990s, including a pair of section

championships and four title-game appearances.

Westminster (3-6-1) scored nine points in four first-round playoff

exits in the ‘90s, and has not won a playoff game since 1985.

Still, Newport Coach Jeff Brinkley and his staff will work hard to

make sure the Sailors don’t look past the Golden West League’s

third-place team.

“You’ve got to be focused every week,” Brinkley said. “A lot of

strange things have happened in the early rounds.”

First-round stumbles at Harbor, however, have been as aberrant as

touchdown dances.

The Tars have won 17 of their last 18 playoff openers, 9 of 10 under

Brinkley, who is 20-8 in the postseason at the Sailors helm. Newport lost

to Glendora to open the ’93 playoffs.

The Sea View League runners-up are on a four-game winning streak, have

won four playoff games in a row, and are 29-1-1 in their last 31 games

against teams not in the Sea View. The only blemishes against nonleague

rivals during this stretch are a 26-18 loss to Marina Sept. 14 and a

21-21 preleague tie against the Vikings last fall.

Westminster, which has been shut out five times and has scored fewer

points (94) than all but one Division VI school, is coming off a 71-0

loss to Tustin last week. The Lions’ losses include a 24-22 setback

against Costa Mesa and a 38-15 verdict at the hands of Corona del Mar,

which Harbor handled, 35-7. The Lions also fell, 41-0, to Marina.

Coach Ted McMillen’s squad starts sophomore Fidel Gonzales at

quarterback and has featured several different running backs.

Gonzales has completed 64 of 139 (46%) for 896 yards. He has thrown

only one touchdown pass, however, to go with 14 interceptions.

Senior Jason Milane has rushed for 250 yards and five TDs the last

four weeks, since becoming the primary ballcarrier.

Senior tight end Hector Colunga leads Westminster receivers with 26

catches for 363 yards.

Atypically small up front, Westminster’s four-four defense has held

five opponents to 14 points or less.

“They have some quickness and I anticipate them coming after us,”

Brinkley said. “We’ll have to be able to pick up the blitz.”

Westminster’s defense will contend with a ground-oriented ball-control

offense keyed by senior tailback Chris Manderino.

Manderino has 1,449 yards and 21 touchdowns on 260 carries and has

surpassed the 100-yard plateau in each of his eight starts. The eight

triple-figure outputs are bettered by only four players in Harbor

history.

When tackles Scott Lopez and Robert Chai, guards Jim Erickson and

Bryan Breland and center Jeff Marshall aren’t drive blocking, they

protect junior quarterback Morgan Craig.

Craig has completed 74 of 126 (59%) for 847 yards and six TDs. He has

thrown only three interceptions.

Junior Brian Gaeta (41 catches for 548 yards and three TDs) leads a

receiving corps which will be without senior Mitch Gray. Gray, who had 15

catches for 115 yards and two TDs, broke his collarbone in last week’s

42-7 win over Aliso Niguel. Junior Jon Vandersloot (eight catches for 70

yards) is slated to start in Gray’s place.

Harbor is led defensively by senior middle linebacker Alan Saenz,

outside ‘backer Manderino, senior ends Ian Banigan and Garrett Troncale

and cornerback Gaeta (four interceptions).

Westminster, on an eight-game postseason losing streak, last played

Harbor in 1982, when they were both members of the Sunset League.

Westminster leads the series, 11-7.