Bravehearts

Barry Faulkner

There was no sense of panic, but Newport Harbor High football

coach Jeff Brinkley was sufficiently concerned with the production of

the running game that he altered the scripted practice regimen last

week to try to rectify the problem.

This is, for those who don’t know Brinkley and his passion for

routine, somewhat akin to ordering a special session of Congress.

“We added an extra five minutes to our group run period,” Brinkley

said of his preparation for Friday’s 17-0 victory over crosstown

rival Corona del Mar in the 41st edition of the Battle of the Bay.

“It cut into our individual period, but we believed it was important

to sacrifice some individual (instruction) time to work as a group,

so we could coordinate our schemes a little better.”

Brinkley, the offensive coordinator, said he also personally

walked his starting offensive linemen through some things in the

practice week leading up to the CdM clash.

The struggles of the Sailors’ running game were glaringly apparent

the first two games. In the season-opening loss at Trabuco Hills, the

Sailors had just 64 rushing yards, followed by a 99-yard performance

in a Week 2 victory over Marina.

“Chris (Badorek) and A.J. (Slater) had had some (varsity)

experience, but the other three guys hadn’t,” Brinkley said. “And

offensive line is one of those areas that takes a lot of coordination

and developing a feel for one another. And, they have a lot put on

them, in terms of learning a new scheme basically every week.”

This unit also had plenty of big shoes to fill, following the 2001

offensive line that some believe was the best in school history.

Behind the likes of two-time All-CIF Southern Section Division VI

tackle and UCLA-bound Robert Chai, All-CIF center Jeff Marshall, now

at Montana, and two-time All-Newport-Mesa guard Bryan Breland, now a

coach for the Harbor freshman team, then-junior tailback Dartangan

Johnson amassed 1,870 yards, including nine games of at least 100,

and scored 15 touchdowns.

Johnson, once again, enjoyed that type of running room against

CdM, collecting a season-high 144 yards on 29 carries. He also scored

his first touchown this fall, capping a six-play, 61-yard scoring

drive with an 8-yard TD sprint late in the fourth quarter to finalize

a 17-point second half for the winners.

“It was nice to see us get the running game going,” Brinkley said

of his team’s 189 ground yards against the Sea Kings, 142 of which

came after halftime.

The unit also saw to it that quarterback Michael McDonald was not

sacked on 14 passing plays.

Badorek, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound senior, plays right tackle. He

started five games at that position as a junior, but also started

four times at left guard and three at right guard.

Slater, a 6-5, 270-pound senior, started seven games at left guard

last season, but has shifted to left tackle this fall.

Junior left guard Eric Curtis (5-11, 230) and junior right guard

Nick Watkins (6-3, 258), as well as senior center Jack Skahen (5-9,

225), were all asked to make the transition from the junior varsity

lineup to the varsity level this season.

“They’re all getting better,” Brinkley said.

The line, coached by Mike Bargas, also had blocking help from

sophomore tight end Taylor Young and senior fullback Rhett

Hartsfield.