Prep football: Bravehearts - Newport Harbor offensive line

Barry Faulkner

For all of his considerable talents, perhaps the leading attribute

Newport Harbor High junior tailback Dartangan Johnson possesses is

timing. It is, after all, a very good time to be the Sailors’ tailback, a

position made considerably more attractive by the presence of what some

consider the most talented offensive line in school history.

That line, made up of tackles Robert Chai and John Debrott, guards

Bryan Breland and Chris Badorek, as well as center Jeff Marshall, created

cavernous holes for Johnson and his backfield mates Friday night. The

results included a 47-7 triumph over Back Bay rival Corona del Mar in the

Battle of the Bay XL, the second straight plus-200-yard night for

Johnson, and some heightened expectations about just how far Johnson and

the rest of the Sailors may go with this mass of humanity leading the

way.

A Newport line anchored by Division I recruits Blair Jones (USC) and

Robert Cole (Brown) helped the late Andre Stewart produce a school

single-season record 2,404 yards in 1999, a campaign that also included a

13-0-1 record and a CIF Southern Section Division VI championship.

Last year, former quarterback Chris Manderino thundered off tackle for

2,141 yards, which led to 11 victories and another berth in the CIF

Division VI title game.

This fall, Johnson has already surpassed the 600-yard mark in three

games, after the Sailors produced 366 yards on the ground against the

overmatched Sea Kings.

“They’re playing well right now,” Newport Coach Jeff Brinkley saoid in

his typically understated manor.

Chai, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior who earned All-CIF recognition as a

junior, is an anchor at left tackle. His rare blend of strength and

technique allows him to get more attention from college coaches than

Chris Fowler.

Breland (6-2, 245), another senior returning starter, was considered a

notch above Chai during the duo’s first two years at Harbor. A wrist

injury set Breland back last year, but the returning All-Newport-Mesa

District performer has come nearly all the way back. An injury to a

Sailor teammate prompted his move from right guard to the left side,

where Brinkley is now reluctant to separate him from Chai.

“Bryan is a very tough guy who plays with an aggressive attitude,”

Brinkley said. “He’s as tough as we get up front.”

Marshall (6-5, 215), the third senior returning starter, has already

committed to accept a scholarship from Division I-AA power Montana. “He

is a big-time center, who is as good as any we’ve had come through the

program,” said Brinkley, whose perspective now spans 16 seasons. “People

don’t realize how good his feet are and he’s extremely intense about

everything he does in his life. He became an Eagle Scout this year.”

Badorek (6-4, 270) is a junior who joined the starting lineup in Week

2. Brinkley said he has performed well enough to make replacing him a

difficult decision.

Debrott (6-7, 280), the senior right tackle, has waited his turn in

the program and is now playing well enough to attract attention from

Division I recruiters.

“If I were at some college, he’d be a guy I’d consider highly,”

Brinkley said.

No discussion of Newport Harbor blockers would be complete without

crediting the work of senior tight end Joe Foley, as well as

lead-blocking fullback David Marshall. Both are as vital to the Sailors’

trademark off-tackle “Power” play as the front five.