Tars true to form

Barry Faulkner

It was fitting, perhaps, that the Newport Harbor High football

team’s scrimmage at Mission Viejo Friday was an afternoon affair, not

under the lights as originally scheduled. There was, in fact, little

additional light shed on the Sailors, as they took the next important

step in preparation for Thursday’s season-opener at Trabuco Hills.

The Sailors, with three starters sidelined by injuries, appeared

strong in the areas Coach Jeff Brinkley had previously identified as

strengths (quarterback, tailback and the secondary). The Tars were

also tentative, at times, in other areas, including the offensive and

defensive lines, as well as the linebacking and receiving corps.

“I told the kids we’re going to have to get better day by day,”

Brinkley said after the teams alternated on offense and defense in

10-play increments at various spots on the field and in various

situational scenarios.

Newport’s first-team offense and defense got 40 plays each in the

controlled format, which included officials, a no-touch policy with

both teams’ quarterbacks, and no movement of the chains or continuous

offensive “drives.”

“I thought (returning senior tailback Dartangan Johnson) ran the

ball very well, I thought Michael (McDonald) threw it well, at times,

and I was pleased with our secondary,” Brinkley said. “But we have

question marks everywhere else.”

Johnson, the Newport-Mesa Offensive Player of the Year last season

after amassing 1,870 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, handled 14 of

the 16 rushing attempts with the first string. He finished with 48

yards, including a pair of 17-yard bursts. His only touchdown was a

3-yard bounce around the left side, in a goal-line scenario.

McDonald, assuming the quarterback reins from two-year starter

Morgan Craig, completed 15 of 23 for 132 yards. Five of his

incompletions were balls dropped by receivers and another bounced off

a receiver’s hand. He was intercepted once.

McDonald had TD tosses of 10 and 3 yards to tight end Paul Toman

and wideout Ben Soza, respectively, in a goal-line sequence.

McDonald’s performance was all the more impressive, considering some

heavy pressure put on by the Diablos’ pass rush. He was forced to

unload the ball earlier than he would have liked on more than a

handful of pass plays. He might not have been able to get other

passes off, had the defense been allowed to tackle him at full speed,

rather than pull up, or veer away from his path.

Defensively, strong safety Warren Junowich, who started last

season as a Newport junior, showed his experience. The defense’s lone

returning starter available Friday (junior outside linebacker Matt

Encinias was held out as a precaution to rest a hand he broke in the

offseason), Junowich broke strongly to intercept a slant pass,

accounting for the visitors’ only take-away. He also blew up a sweep

(a 2-yard loss) with decisive run support, broke up a pass in the

flat by leveling the would-be receiver, and provided solid coverage

on another incompletion.

Soza, a first-year starter at cornerback, made three crushing hits

on Diablo receivers, one of which jarred the ball loose to force an

incompletion.

Senior defensive end Shahan Mouradyan and junior outside ‘backer

Peter Hoyt had the equivalent of sacks (without actually tackling the

quarterback), while senior end Rhett Hartsfield and sophomore outside

‘backer Greg Miner chipped in tackles for losses. Sophomore middle

linebacker Trevor Theriot made a big hit to stuff a run play behind

the line to highlight the Harbor reserves’ 10 defensive plays.

Brinkley also praised the work of senior cornerback Bryce Sawyer,

who tackled receivers in front of him after catches and broke a punt

return for a likely touchdown (the whistle blew after Sawyer appeared

to have all Mission Viejo defenders beaten, still about 40 yards from

the end zone).

Soza, filling in offensively for projected starter Spencer Link (a

sophomore receiver recovering from a shoulder separation sustained

early in contact drills), had a team-high five receptions for 26

yards.

Senior Mike Toole, the other starting receiver, caught four passes

for 35 yards, while Toman had three catches for 47 yards, including a

26-yard gain that was the Sailors’ longest of the day.

Five others caught one pass apiece for the Sailors, for whom

backup quarterback Kasey Peters, a sophomore, completed half of his

four passes for 16 yards, with one interception on a pass deflected

by a defender at the line.

Newport committed three turnovers, while surrendering 106 yards on

20 rushing attempts, including gains of 19, 17 and 15, all up the

middle.

Mission quarterbacks completed 11 of 18 pass attempts for 80

yards, including the aforementioned interception.

The Diablos, unbeaten CIF Southern Section Division II champions a

year ago, had a pair of touchdown passes, a 20-yarder to the tight

end up the seam and a 3-yard out in a goal-line situation.

The hosts reached the end zone in another goal-line sequence, on a

3-yard quarterback scramble, though it was unclear if he would have

been tackled had full contact on the quarterback been allowed.

Austin Nieto, a junior expected to start at noseguard, did not

play due to back spasms, Brinkley said.

In addition, Jordan Smith, a senior backup receiver and safety,

did not play after straining his neck in a Friday afternoon

automobile accident near campus.

Brinkley said all the injured players could be ready to go next

week.

Perhaps the best news for both coaches Friday: There were no

apparent injuries for either team.