Tars, Knights square off in a fateful league finale

Barry Faulkner

It could be argued that only the specter of elimination could make

tonight’s Sea View League football showdown between Newport Harbor

High and host Foothill more dramatic.

And while both combatants for the 7 o’clock kickoff at Tustin High

will, win or lose, return to practice Friday to begin preparation for

the CIF Southern Section Division VI Playoffs, tonight’s winner will

pave itself a much smoother postseason path.

The winner will, in fact, earn at least a share of the league

title and possibly one of the division’s top-four playoff seeds.

The loser, depending on the outcome of tonight’s Irvine-Laguna

Hills clash, could wind up anywhere from second to fourth, the latter

forcing it to earn the division’s lone at-large berth, with which

comes a certain first-round road date and a considerably tougher

playoff draw.

Newport could claim the league’s No. 1 playoff designation with a

victory and an Irvine loss. Should Irvine and Newport Harbor win, the

Sailors would be the league’s No. 2 team. Wins by Foothill and Irvine

would put the Sailors alone in third place, while loses by Harbor and

Laguna Hills would create a three-way tie for second behind Foothill,

with a coin flip used to determine the league’s Nos. 2 and 3 playoff

teams.

“We have a chance to put ourselves in position to be the league

champions, if not enhance our seeding in the playoffs,” Newport

Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said. “It’s a huge week and, from there on

in, they’re all huge. This is going to be quite a challenge and we’re

playing at their place.”

The primary challenge facing a Foothill opponent is how to stop

perhaps Orange County’s most dangerous offense. The Knights’ 3,572

yards of offense this season rank No. 1 in the county. Coach Doug

Case’s squad is, perhaps, more responsible for its two losses than

the San Clemente and Irvine teams against which they occurred.

Foothill (7-2, 3-1 in league), ranked No. 3 in CIF Division VI,

committed the game’s only four turnovers in its 30-20 nonleague loss

to San Clemente Oct. 11.

In Friday’s 24-17 setback against Irvine, the Knights’ three lost

fumbles and two interceptions were the only five turnovers of the

night.

When Foothill takes care of the ball, or at least competes in the

turnover department, victory has been academic.

“They’ve got the complete package on offense,” Brinkley said.

“They’ve got the runner (senior Mike Liti), who is the fastest we’ve

faced this season, a receiver (senior Quincy Lever) with close to

1,000 receiving yards and a quarterback (senior Don Poole) who is a

two-year starter. They spread you out with one back and four

receivers and they take what you give them. They can come at you a

lot of different ways.”

Brinkley said the speed factor will be the biggest concern for the

Sailors (7-2, 3-1), ranked No. 6 in CIF Division VI.

“(Liti) is faster than Irvine’s Terrell Vinson (who exploded for

309 rushing yards, including TD jaunts of 65 and 94 yards in a 28-20

win over the Tars Oct. 25),” Brinkley said. “He runs hard, he’s

shifty and he’s very athletic. We need to contain their speed and

make them march the field and not give up big plays. And,

offensively, we need to make sure we control the ball, so we keep

their offense off the field.”

Liti, a 5-foot-11, 200-pounder, has rushed for 1,338 yards and 19

touchdowns on 153 carries this fall. His TD runs include those

covering 76, 65, 50, 45 (twice), 41 and 24 yards and he has also

caught 19 passes for an additional 283 yards. He amassed 345 yards

from scrimmage against Irvine (272 rushing and 73 receiving) and also

rolled up 287 rushing yards in a victory over Laguna Hills.

Even with Liti’s heroics, the Knights have earned nearly 59% of

their yards through the air.

The 6-2 Poole has completed 121 of 204 for 1,953 yards and 14 TDs,

with eight interceptions, while Lever has 64 receptions for 997 yards

and nine TDs.

Lever’s touchdowns catches include those covering 60, 56, 47, 37,

26, and 23 yards and he has also returned a kickoff 98 yards for a

score.

Glenn Ardrey (21 catches for 250 yards) is another frequent Poole

target.

“(Poole) plays within their system and when guys get open, he’s

pretty accurate,” Brinkley said.

Poole was 13 of 21 with two interceptions against Irvine, which

was the first game this season in which he did not throw a touchdown

pass.

Turnovers have been a recurring problem for the Knights, who have

lost 16 of their 29 fumbles and are minus-eight in turnover ratio for

the season.

The Sailors feature nearly symmetric balance on offense, with

senior Dartangan Johnson handling most the running duties and senior

quarterback Michael McDonald triggering a productive passing game.

Johnson, the school career rushing record holder with 3,075 yards,

has 1,070 yards on 171 carries this fall, including 16 TDs. He has

scored 14 times in the last five games, including a 74-yard TD

reception in last week’s win over Woodbridge. He has seven straight

games of at least 100 yards and his 16 career triple-figure rushing

games are also school record.

McDonald, who rushed for a career-high 104 yards and two TDs

against Woodbridge, has thrown for 1,444 yards and 11 TDs this

season, his first as the starting signal caller. He has completed 96

of 171 passes (56%), with only four interceptions.

McDonald’s favorite receivers have been sophomore Spencer Link (33

catches for 543 yards and seven TDs) and senior Mike Toole (25

catches for 385 yards and one TD). But Link suffered a dislocated

shoulder last week, putting his availability and/or effectiveness in

question for tonight.

Foothill has intercepted 11 passes this season, led by junior

Brandon Baricuatro with four. Baricuatro is also the second-leading

tackler (79), behind senior 5-11, 205-pound linebacker Brett

Richardson (85).

David Goto, a 5-11, 235-pound senior defensive end (four sacks) is

another defense standout who has caught Brinkley’s attention.

The Sailors. plus-three in turnover ratio, have been led

defensively by linebackers Fernando Castorena and Matt Encinias,

cornerback Ben Soza (four interceptions), safety Warren Junowich and

ends Mac Posey and Shahan Mouradyan.

This is the first meeting between the two schools since 1996, when

the Sailors eliminated the Knights, 27-18, in the Division VI

quarterfinals. The two teams played a classic Division VI semifinal

game in 1994, won by the Sailors, 13-10, in overtime, after

regulation produced a 7-7 tie. Newport leads the series, 5-1.