All-Star football: Hardly smooth sailing

Bryce Alderton

Life as a high school football player for Brian Gaeta has been a

challenge to say the least.

Listed as 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, the recent Newport Harbor graduate

Gaeta was benched as a quarterback during the second game of his

sophomore season, recovered from knee surgeries on both knees to repair

torn patella tendons after his his junior year and missed a month after

tearing two ligaments in his right ankle this past season.

But through all the surgeries and casts, the two-time first-team

All-Sea View League performer in football and an all-league performer in

volleyball, returned to the field, determined to play his best -- and his

best paid off -- which is why he’s playing in Friday’s Orange All-Star

Football Game at 7:15 p.m. at Orange Coast College.

Playing both wide receiver and defensive back during his junior and

senior seasons for Coach Jeff Brinkley’s Tars, Gaeta amassed 89

receptions, (for 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns) good for fourth on the

Sailors’ all-time list.

Last season, he caught 27 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns,

missing virtually half the regular season due to the ankle injury, as

Newport Harbor finished 10-2 and reached the CIF Southern Section

Division VI semifinals before losing to La Mirada, 13-10 in overtime.

The Tars defeated La Mirada, 35-16, in a CIF semifinal matchup the

previous year, in a game Gaeta considers his most enjoyable athletic

event ever.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun playing sports than beating La

Mirada my junior year at Harbor,” Gaeta recalled. “It was funny; we came

into the game as heavy underdogs. (La Mirada) was talking a lot of trash

while we were warming up, but we took it to them. We were hitting on all

cylinders that game. That’s the most fun game I’ve ever had.”

The Tars would eventually lose in the 1999 CIF title game to Irvine,

as Gaeta wrapped up a stellar junior season. He caught 62 passes (tying

him for fifth on the county list and third on Newport Harbor’s

single-season list) for 792 yards and seven touchdowns for the 11-3

Sailors.He had a team-leading six interceptions playing cornerback that

season.

His chance to break the school career mark for receptions was scuttled

by injuries, but the “what ifs” don’t affect Gaeta, who isn’t concerned

about records.

“I’ll be honest, those records never cross my mind,” said Gaeta, who

was All-CIF as a senior and twice a member of the All-Newport-Mesa Dream

Team. “I knew I had hurt my chances at getting a scholarship.”

Gaeta leaves July 24 for Colorado Springs, where he begins summer camp

as a walk-on for Coach Sonny Lubick’s Fort Collins-based Colorado State

Rams.

Gaeta spoke with Lubick when the two met six weeks ago on Gaeta’s

campus visit.

“I see myself fitting in great there,” Gaeta said. (Lubick) said

walk-ons are a huge part of their program, so I’m happy to go there.”

Before he goes there, Gaeta has the All-Star game to play, where he is

expected to start at wide receiver for Mission Viejo Coach Bob Johnson’s

South squad.

Taking throws from Mater Dei quarterback Colt Brennan has been a

smooth adjustment in practice for Gaeta, who also has a more familiar

face, teammate Morgan Craig, tossing him pigskins in practice.

“It’s just me adjusting to the quarterback,” Gaeta said. “It’s more of

a mental adjustment. Some quarterbacks have a faster drop and some like

their routes shorter than other quarterbacks. Morgan is very athletic.

Others might not be as athletic but have a stronger arm. It hasn’t been a

hard adjustment.”

Gaeta doesn’t feel any added pressure playing alongside fellow

receivers such as Julien Petit (Mater Dei) and Akilah Lacey

(Westminster).

“I get along well with all the other receivers,” Gaeta said. “We’ve

all bonded well with each other. I know that they’re good and they know

that I’m good so we’re all going to go out in the game and enjoy

ourselves.”

Joining Gaeta and Craig on the South team will be former Newport

Harbor teammate Jeff Marshall, an offensive lineman.

“I just want to play my best and have a good time,” Gaeta said. “I’ve

worked hard and it’s one more chance to play with Jeff Marshall and

Morgan to give it my best.”