Nearly 60 years have passed, and nobody’s forgotten

Almost 60 years have passed since Newport Harbor High lost its CIF

small schools football playoff game to Bonita High, 39-6, in the

title match of a one-game playoffs format for the Sailors.

The memory may be thin for many observers of the day in Bonita,

but not for a West Point All-American named Glenn Davis.

Davis, whose Bonita Bearcats won 11 games and scored 407 points in

1942, disclosed a sharpened memory during his last appearance before

some members of the local Amigos Viejos organization in Newport

Beach.

At one point during the colorful luncheon, one member turned to

Davis, then introduced former Costa Mesa Police Chief Roger Neth and

said, “Here’s a member of that Newport ’42 team.”

With a smile, Davis said, “Oh, yes, I remember how you Newport

guys were thinking about coming up to whomp the backsides of our

little school.”

Net smiled back, then replied, “Yes, but we had you 6-0 at

halftime.”

Davis laughed, then said, “Yeah, but it’s always the final score

that counts.”

Many Newport fans believed the Sailors could win as long as the

legendary fullback Harold Sheflin was in the game, because he was

consistently stopping the evasive Davis throughout the first half.

However, an injury before the half ended sidelines Sheflin and he

was lost from any further action.

Davis, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy at Army, also

maintained a strong memory of Sheflin and his impact in the early

days. In fact, when Time Magazine once asked Davis to name the

greatest player he ever faced, he said, “Harold Sheflin of Newport

Harbor High School.”

Actually, Newport was much smaller than most members of the Sunset

League, such as Anaheim, Fullerton, Excelsior and Long Beach Jordan.

Hence, the reason why it was shifted into the CIF small schools

playoff division.

Bonita was definitely a small school, but with the likes of Davis,

a future USC star fullback named Duane Whitehead and Glenn’s brother,

Ralph, at end, the Bearcats were exceptionally strong.

In fact, Bonita soundly whipped numerous big schools like Mt.

Carmel, Riverside, Covina, Colton and South Pasadena.

One ’42 report said Davis often scored five touchdowns a game. He

was a 9.7 sprinter with powerful hips and continued to demonstrate

his strength all through his years at West Point.

Reflecting back, it was once explained that Newport had no scouts

or scouting reports on Bonita before the playoff clash and the team

knew little of Davis and his overwhelming talent as a broken-field

runner.

And, as ’42 Newport defensive star Bill Neth once explained,

Newport had limited numbers and could not afford any severe scrimmage

action for fear of injuries.

The Sailors had an astonishing first team, paced by two potential

CIF powers in Sheflin and the big tackle, Manuel Muniz. In time,

Muniz would star at Arizona State and be invited to join the New York

Giants, but he declined due to badly injured knees.

Bill Neth, who later became an All-California Junior College guard

for Santa Ana and was invited to link up with a Los Angeles pro team,

said he could not project a championship season for Newport in early

September of ’42.

He said it was difficult to know the real strength of all the

league schools, especially Anaheim, which featured a great fullback

named Jerry Shipkey. He sensed Newport had a strong force brewing on

the first lineup, but it was tough to measure the overall team

initially.

Bill Neth said it did become more positive to him after the

Sailors had won about six games, which included a big Santa ana team

and a strong outfit from Long Beach Jordan.

Newport won both games by a 7-0 count on the road.

He said the close of the season was a trying scene since World War

II was in high gear and the players knew that many of their teammates

would be fading away in the months ahead.

Even the Newport coach, Wendell Pickens, would be departing to

accept an officer’s commission with the Navy relative to physical

conditioning programs.

Interesting enough, six Newport Players -- the Neth brothers, Don

Miller, Don Vaughn, Paul Myrehn and Turk Dennis -- would help lead

Santa Ana JC to the 1945 gridiron championship after the war had

ended.