Sailors have work cut out for them

Barry Faulkner

Newport Harbor High football coach Jeff Brinkley would like

nothing better than for the law of averages to kick in when the

Sailors meet nonleague visitor Marina Friday at 7 p.m.

For while Brinkley is hoping for some counterbalance after nothing

much went right for his squad in a 16-8 nonleague loss at Trabuco

Hills, it is clear not much went wrong for the Vikings in a 48-14

season-opening triumph over Paramount.

“They recovered three pooch kickoffs, ran some trick plays, and

were basically clicking on all cylinders,” said Brinkley, who saw the

Vikings take a 31-0 lead just one play into the second quarter

Friday. “Everything they did seemed to work.”

But while such good fortune can be fleeting, Brinkley does not

expect anything but a solid challenge from Marina, which has a

victory and a tie in its last three meetings with the Sailors.

“We went and watched them scrimmage Millikan and they looked good

to us that night, too,” Brinkley said. “But both (defensive

coordinator Tony Ciarelli) and I thought they were much better than

we anticipated in their opener. They really got after Paramount.”

The Vikings got into the CIF Southern Section Division I Playoffs

last season, no small feat in the rugged Sunset League. Coach Mike

Dodd’s squad finished third in the Sunset, knocking off Esperanza in

the process to keep the Aztecs out of the playoffs.

“They played very well last year and will definitely be as

physical or more physical than the Trabuco Hills team we saw last

week,” Brinkley said.

Marina’s 5-6 record last fall, however, included a 28-0 loss to

Newport, the only time the Vikings have been shut out in their last

52 contests, dating back to the 1995 regular-season finale.

One must delve 14 seasons into the archives to find the last time

the Sailors lost a season opener, an occurrence Brinkley believes

will have his players hungry for success Friday.

“Our seniors need to rise up and take charge of this thing,”

Brinkley said. “I don’t think anybody felt real good about what went

on last week.”

Much of the futility experienced by Harbor in its opener came on

offense. The Newport ground attack found little daylight against the

Mustangs, finishing with a paltry 64 rushing yards. The Sailors did

throw for 172 yards, but Brinkley lamented an atypically low

completion percentage (32%), nearly half that which Brinkley, also

the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, expects.

The seven first downs Newport managed against Trabuco were the

fewest in its last 84 games. They were also fewer than half the

per-game average (16.4) posted by last season’s Sea View League

champions and CIF Division VI semifinalists.

Senior tailback Dartangan Johnson, who had nine games of at least

100 rushing yards as a junior, collected just 21 yards on eight attempts, sitting out most of the third quarter with leg cramps. But

Johnson, the Newport-Mesa Offensive Player of the Year and a

first-team All-Sea View performer last fall, has 2,026 career rushing

yards.

Newport quarterback Michael McDonald will make his second varsity

start. He has now thrown for 386 yards and four TDs, completing 25

for 47 with two interceptions in varsity action.

McDonald’s favorite target figures to be sophomore Spencer Link,

who had four receptions for 102 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown,

in his first varsity start last week.

Mike Toole, a senior receiver, picked up 41 yards on his lone

reception last week.

Defensively, the Sailors will try to contain Marina’s run-first

attack, which features several ball carriers.

Joe Vargas, a 6-foot, 200-pound senior, rushed for 48 yards on

eight carries last week, but scored three TDs. Junior Daniel

Falkenstein (6-1, 210) collected 118 yards on seven carries, while

senior Walter Hildebrand (6-2, 195) and senior Keith Heyward (6-3,

215) are additional threats.

Junior Matt Brennan completed 4 of 13 passes for 70 yards and two

TDs and also rushed for a TD against Paramount.

The Vikings also boast a solid kicker in sophomore Yuto Someya,

who toed field goals of 37 and 35 yards last week.

Newport Harbor, which is 14-1-1 in its last 16 Week 2 contests,

leads the series with Marina, 16-4-1.

The two schools were Sunset League rivals from 1967-80.