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Prep football: Sailors’ stock soaring

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Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Like most of the news produced by the Newport

Harbor High football team’s five-game preleague season, the injury report

from Thursday’s 41-0 win over Millikan was better than anticipated.

Coach Jeff Brinkley said Sunday that Joe Foley’s sprained ankle did

not swell a great deal and X-rays did not reveal a break.

Brinkley said Bryan Breland, like Foley, a two-way starter, should be

ready to play this week after sitting out most of Thursday’s game with a

stinger (nerve irritation in the neck and shoulder area).

Senior offensive tackle John Dobrott, who left the game early with a

sprained knee ligament, told Brinkley he was feeling much better Friday.

Brinkley had yet to hear from Dobrott’s doctor Sunday, but expected

Dobrott would be ready to return this week.

The news on the stat sheet was better still against the Rams, as

Harbor (4-0-1), ranked No. 6 in Orange County and No. 2 in CIF Southern

Section Division VI, continued to extend encouraging trends on offense

and defense.

Offensively, the Sailors’ first-team unit scored touchdowns on all

five of its possessions, despite having to replace Dobrott and Breland up

front. Junior A.J. Slater and senior Ben Prince stepped into keep the

well-oiled machine running -- and passing.

Senior quarterback Morgan Craig completed 12 of 13 passes for a career

single-game high 226 yards. He had three touchdown tosses, two to senior

Adam Kerns, without an interception.

Junior tailback Dartangan Johnson averaged 5.5 yards on his 17 carries

to help the Sailors earn half of their 16 first downs on the ground.

With running and passing efficiency, the Sailors’ starting offense’s

last 18 possessions have produced points 15 times, an astounding 83%

rate. The 13 touchdowns produced in those 18 drives equates to 72%.

Since the season-opening 7-7 tie against Orange Lutheran, Harbor’s

first-string offense has scored on 22 of its 31 possessions, a conversion

rate of 71%.

“We’ve been balanced and efficient,” Brinkley said. “The offensive

line has done a nice job and having Morgan with a year of experience, has

really helped.

“(Johnson) is also running the ball very well right now and doing a

good job of taking care of the ball.”

Defensively, productivity has been at least as impressive, if not more

so. The Sailors’ 28 points allowed are the fewest in Orange County. The

job done by a defense without a single returning starter (senior Brian

Gaeta has missed all but one offensive series with torn ankle ligaments)

is even more impressive, when one considers that two opposing touchdown

drives have come with Newport reserves on the field.

Brinkley points to a handful of special teams breakdowns as an area

his team will need to improve, but, overall, admits he is “pleased with

our progress.”

Pleased and satisfied, however, are mutually exclusive in the Newport

Harbor coaching consciousness.

“Like I tell our kids,” Brinkley said, “you’re either getting better

or you’re getting worse. We’ve gotten better, but we certainly have some

challenges ahead.”

The Sailors first Sea View League challenge will be Aliso Niguel

(3-1), which hosts the Tars Friday at 7 p.m.

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