Prep column: End comes suddenly for Tars

Barry Faulkner

The Newport Harbor High football team had a long bus ride back to

campus Saturday night, and all of Sunday, to absorb the finality of a

season-ending 13-10 overtime loss at La Mirada in the CIF Southern

Section Division VI semifinals.

For others, the lack of a practice to attend Monday brought more

painful resolution that this season, for most seniors their last in the

sport, is but a memory.

The disappointment and surprise, however, are not limited to those who

shed tears in the Sailors’ locker room Saturday night. For, this team,

this program, seems now to annually galvanize a community, a great many

of whose citizens had planned on attending Friday’s championship game,

just as they had the last two seasons and five of the last nine.

That there is no 14th week this fall is indeed a concession to

reality, to the uncompromising difficulty of attaining excellence so

consistently. So good have the Sailors become, the expectations so lofty,

the totality of that excellence is regrettably diminished when a CIF

title, or at least playing for one, is not attained. This should not be

so. Having earned 34 wins the last three seasons, a school record, those

who bleed Newport blue have clearly been spoiled.

Arguably, the same is true at La Mirada, a program which has virtually

mirrored Newport Harbor’s success in recent years.

But it was the Matadores, then-unbeaten and top-seeded, who were

forced to deal with the devastation of coming so close to a championship

goal last season, only to lose in the semis, 35-16, at Newport Harbor.

Perhaps that loss, and the perspective that it presented, could help

explain the rampant joy displayed by La Mirada spectators and players

alike, when two Jared Martin field goals -- the first to tie the game

with two seconds left in regulation and the second to win the game in

overtime -- sailed through the uprights and into a proud program’s lore.

Though it may be awhile before the sting of Saturday’s loss, the

Sailors should eventually celebrate the 10-2-1 campaign that was rife

with glory.

Among the memories that come to mind:

*Countless deftly thrown Morgan Craig passes, 23 of which resulted in

touchdowns.

*The brutish ease with which offensive tackle Robert Chai knocked

about his opponents.

*The seamless simplicity of an Adam Kerns fly pattern and the

surprising force which he delivered making a tackle.

*The power and grace of Brian Gaeta intersecting the ball at its

highest point.

*The tenacity of a Cory Ray tackle.

*The play-after-play passion of defensive end Jim Rothwell.

*The unsung efficiency of receiver-safety Mike McDonald, on both sides

of the ball.

*The concussion of a Dave Erickson kick-out block.

*Two-way lineman Bryan Breland separating a ball carrier from the

ball.

*Outside linebacker Tyler Miller sniffing out a flat pass and closing

quickly to either break it up or nail the receiver in his tracks.

*Dartangan Johnson darting through would-be tacklers en route to big

rushing numbers.

*Nose guard Joe Foley making plays despite a debilitating ankle

injury.

*Defensive tackle Scott Kohan knocking a blocker backward, allowing

him to record a tackle without touching the ball carrier.

*Nick Iverson’s consistent kick coverage.

*Craig finishing a run.

*The throwback “Nebraska pass” for a touchdown against Cerritos.

Hopefully, the wait for another gadget play won’t be as long as the one

that preceded this one.

There should be no noticeable drop-off next season for the Sailors,

who won Sea View League titles on the freshman and junior varsity levels

this fall.