Prep football: Tars up to speed?

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - The Newport Harbor High football team is hoping to

end the unprecedented season visiting Cerritos has already achieved when

the two teams collide Friday at 7 p.m. in a CIF Southern Section Division

VI quarterfinal.

Coach Kurt Bruich’s Dons (9-1), tri-champions of the Suburban League,

had never before finished atop the league standings. Cerritos advanced

last week with a 42-7 first-round thumping of Loara, in which the Dons

scored on their first six possessions and led, 35-0, after one quarter.

The Dons are averaging nearly 35 points per game and have twice scored in

the 50s, with a high of 57.

The No. 3-seeded Sailors (9-1-1) are much more familiar with success,

having reached the division title game five times in the previous nine

years, including CIF championships in 1994 and 1999.

The Sailors, 24-9 in the playoffs under 16-year coach Jeff Brinkley

(20-5 since 1992, including a 6-0 mark in quarterfinals), hope that

experience can counteract the team speed that sets Cerritos apart among

Division VI schools.

“If you were look at our team, the first thing you’d notice is our

speed,” said Bruich, the son of San Bernardino County all-time coaching

victories leader and former Fontana High head man Dick Bruich. “We have

four receivers who all run under 11 seconds in the 100 meters.”

Newport Harbor had problems with Westchester’s speed, which helped the

Comets earn a 26-22 nonleague win in the regular-season finale.

Brinkley, however, believes the Westchester game will help the Tars

step up to the challenge the Dons will present.

“Playing Westchester was a bonus for us (in preparing) for this game,”

Brinkley said. “We found out that we can play with athletes and we

certainly believe that across the board, we should have won that

(Westchester) game. Knowing we lined up with Westchester very tough,

should give our guys a lot of confidence.”

Confidence is something the Dons have acquired, outscoring teams an

average of around 35-10 this fall, including a 28-17 triumph over La

Mirada, ranked No. 1 in Division VI at the time.

“You can tell they know how to win,” Brinkley said. “They’re league

champs and they have to feel good about that. They’re the most talented

team we’ve played this year, including Westchester (which took a 9-1

record into Wednesday’s Los Angeles City Section semifinals).”

Bruich, in his fourth season, said the Dons have displayed very few

weaknesses.

“We’re balanced on offense and defense and we’ve been pretty good on

special teams, too,” Bruich said. “We have a special group of kids who

can run and hit and tackle.”

The Newport defense, which leads Orange County and Division VI in

fewest points allowed (80), will tackle the challenge of containing a

spread offense triggered by senior two-year starting quarterback Tim

Austin.

Austin has completed 104 of 171 passes (nearly 61%) for 1,562 yards

and 17 touchdowns, with only four interceptions. He frequently operates

out of the shotgun and Bruich said he has thrown completions to 10

different receivers.

Junior tailback Kenneth Frank scored four TDs against Loara and has

rushed for 1,208 yards on 152 carries, with 24 rushing TDs.

Senior receiver Nathan Adkins is Austin’s favorite target and has

scholarship offers from Colorado and Colorado State. He has 32 catches

for 508 yards and seven TDs and has also scored as a kick returner.

Newport has been led defensively by senior linebackers Cory Ray and

Tyler Miller, while cornerbacks Adam Kerns (five interceptions) and Brian

Gaeta, as well as junior safety Mike McDonald (four), have helped the

Tars post 17 picks, the fifth-best single-season total in school history.

Newport earned its fourth shutout in last week’s 49-point first-round

drubbing of Ocean View and is trying to become the first Harbor team in

30 years to allow fewer than 100 points in a season.

Offensively, a Newport line that averages 6-foot-5, 261 pounds from

tackle to tackle has driven a balanced attack that features senior

quarterback Morgan Craig and junior tailback Dartangan Johnson.

Johnson has carried 257 times for 1,719 yards and his five TDs against

Ocean View upped his season total to 15. His 239 rushing yards last week

were also a career high.

Craig has completed 101 of 154 (nearly 66%) for 1,327 yards and 18 TDs

and is also closing in on 400 rushing yards.

Kerns (23 catches for 508 yards and 10 TDs), Gaeta (19 for 225 yards),

McDonald (17 for 215) and Jon Vandersloot (13 for 144) have been reliable

receiving targets.

The Tars’ offensive front is led by UCLA-bound senior tackle Robert

Chai and Montana-bound senior center Jeff Marshall.

The Sailors, however, will be facing a unique defensive scheme.

“(The Dons) run a version of the Chicago Bears 46 defense, except they

bring one more,” Brinkley said. “These guys have no free safety, so you

know they’re coming after you. They bring athletes, but they can also

cover you. Hopefully, we can develop some schemes that can exploit some

of those things.”

Frank is the Dons’ “center fielder” on defense, while Austin and

Adkins are additional members of the secondary. Jonathan Mitchell, a 6-0,

230 linebacker, is another defensive stalwart for Cerritos.

The winner of Friday’s game, the first ever between the two schools,

will advance to meet the Foothill-La Mirada winner in a Dec. 1 semifinal.

If Newport wins, it’s seventh semifinal appearance in 10 years would be

on the road.