Prep football: Tars trounce Sea Kings, 47-7

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - The Back Bay that separates the high school football

rivalry between Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar was overcome by

whitecap, er, white-jerseyed, waves of humanity Friday night before 7,000

at Orange Coast College.

The beings behind the relentless tide were the white-clad, visiting

Sailors, who hammered away offensively and smothered the Sea Kings

defensively to record a 47-7 nonleague victory in the 40th Battle of the

Bay.

It was the second-biggest margin of victory and the second-most points

scored by one team in the annual battle of crosstown rivals, surpassed

only by Harbor’s 55-8 triumph in 1996.

Further, CdM must hope major injuries sustained by a pair of its

starters, don’t wash away its hopes of contending for a CIF Southern

Section playoff spot when the Pacific Coast League season begins in three

weeks.

Junior guard-linebacker John Daley broke a wrist and junior outside

linebacker Jeff Reed suffered a broken collarbone, all before halftime,

according to Sea Kings Coach Dick Freeman.

CdM junior lineman Jason Kidushim was helped off the field with an

injured left ankle in the third quarter and Freeman did not know the

severity of his injury.

“‘They kicked our (rear end),” Freeman said. “They did what they’ve

always done (offensively) and we didn’t make tackles.”

The punishment spilled over to all facets of the game, after Newport

Harbor defensive end Jim Rothwell’s blindsided sack four plays into the

game, produced a fumble which Harbor end Bryan Breland recovered to set

up the first of three smashmouth touchdown drives.

Junior tailback Dartangan Johnson was the major beneficiary of a tall,

talented offensive line which weighs in collectively at around

three-quarters of a ton.

With a CdM defensive front seven surrendering an average of 51 pounds

per man to Harbor’s six-member blocking wall, the Sailors muscled down

the field with little interruption.

Tackles Robert Chai and John Debrott, guards Breland and Chris

Badorek, center Jeff Marshall and tight end Joe Foley, not to mention

lead-blocking fullback David Marshall, helped Johnson collect 94 yards by

the end of the first quarter.

Johnson, who did his part by breaking several tackles, posted

first-quarter touchdown runs of 2 and 33 yards to help put CdM in a

permanent hole.

The first Harbor scoring “drive,” which cashed in the fumble, covered

four plays and 18 yards. The visitors then doubled the score with three

plays, covering 64 yards, including a 25-yard pass from Morgan Craig to

Foley.

Newport drove 83 yards on 14 plays with its third possession, with

Craig hitting tight end Cory Ray on a 4-yard bootleg pass with 9:25 left

before halftime. The third of Adam Kerns’ four conversion kicks made it

21-0 and, after CdM’s fourth punt before intermission, Craig bolted 43

yards on a quarterback draw to set up Matt Casserly’s 3-yard scoring

plunge over left tackle.

Newport, however, seemed unwilling to rest on its 28-point cushion, as

it drove 81 yards on seven plays with the second-half kickoff to continue

the carnage.

Johnson, who now has 601 rushing yards in three varsity starts, ran

for 71 yards on the drive, including a 38-yard burst on the first play.

He capped the march with a 3-yard touchdown run with 9:19 left in the

third quarter, then, like many of his fellow starters, took the rest of

the night off.

While the Newport offense was dominating, the Sailors were also

defending their reputation as the No. 1 scoring defense in Orange County.

“(The defense) played great,” said Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley,

whose Sailors have now defeated CdM three straight times and seven of the

last eight. The defensive display was even more impressive, considering

only one county school (Canyon) had scored more points than the 76 CdM

posted its first two games.

An 11-yard TD toss from Mike McDonald to Mike Toole put the Tars up,

40-0, with 5:33 left and junior tailback Rhett Hartsfield capped an

impressive 87-yard, 15-play touchdown procession by the second string

with a 1-yard run with 4:37 left in the game. Brian Campos toed the

conversion and it was 47-0.

CdM, which received rugged defensive play from junior inside

linebacker Matt Cooper, as well as junior tackle Jayson Skalla, responded

on offense, to avert what would have been its seventh blanking in the

series.

Senior quarterback Dylan Hendy, who was not sacked after the initial

series, led the march. He completed three passes for 24 yards and ran

three times for 23 more, the latter scramble a 10-yard scoring sprint

around the right side with 1:02 remaining.

Hendy who finished with 33 rushing yards, was the hosts’ biggest

ground gainer.

Hartsfield accumulated 65 rushing yards on 15 carries and Craig’s

rushed for 79 yards on four attempts. Craig threw for 31 yards and a

touchdown, while McDonald connected on all five of his passes for 59

yards and a touchdown in relief.

Defensive stalwarts for the winners included linebackers Tyler Miller,

Ray and Matt Encinias, tackle Scott Kohan, nose guard Foley, safety

Warren Junowich and cornerbacks Kerns and Nick Iverson.

Iverson intercepted at his own 1 late in the third quarter to stop

what was then CdM’s deepest penetration (the Sailors’ 25-yard line).

Kerns’ interception near the end of the first half accounted for

Harbor’s third takeaway, not counting the perpetual Bell Trophy, which

the Sailors returned to their field house.

Kerns had a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown nullified by a

clipping penalty in the second quarter and another would-be interception

by Harbor junior Jimmy Sanchez was also negated by a penalty.

“We played hard and Corona played hard to the end,” Breland said. “Our

coaches told us all week the team that played the hardest would win. We

didn’t expect to win by 40 points.”