Sailors look to start new streak
Patrick Laverty
For 13 seasons, ever since a 28-0 loss to Santa Ana in 1988, Newport
Harbor High’s football team had not lost its opening game of the
season.
Sure, there were a few slips along the way, such as a loss to
Orange in 1995 that became a forfeit victory, or a 7-7 tie against
Orange Lutheran in 2001. But the Sailors had not officially opened
the season 0-1 for 13 years until Trabuco Hills defeated them, 16-8,
last year.
Now comes Newport Harbor’s time for revenge.
The Sailors will attempt to begin a new winning streak in season
openers when they take on the visiting Mustangs at 7 tonight.
Both teams have changed significantly since Trabuco Hills overcame
an early eight-point deficit by scoring 16 unanswered points last
season.
The Sailors enter the 2003 season with just four returning
starters on offense and two on defense. The Mustangs have a new head
coach in Jason Negro and must replace quarterback Brian White, who
received a scholarship to the University of Colorado.
Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley went much of the summer without
any clue as to what the Mustangs would look like on the field because
of the coaching change. Having seen Trabuco Hills’ preseason
scrimmage against Northwood, he now knows not much has changed for a
team that reached the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs last
season and is expected to do so again.
“They’re pretty solid,” Brinkley said. “They run around a lot on
defense. They were a little quicker on defense than I expected.
“They seemed pretty balanced. We’re always going to go in and try
to stop the run first.”
First-game jitters may be eased a bit by last week’s scrimmage
against Mission Viejo, The Diablos are South Coast League rivals of
Trabuco Hills and have won the last two Division II championships
while compiling a 28-game winning streak. The Sailors, who compete
for the CIF Division VI championship, held their own against the
Diablos.
“I think it was good for us,” Brinkley said. “We’ve played well
against them in the scrimmages. I think it gave everybody a little
bit of confidence. Overall, I was pleased with how we threw the ball
and we ran it well.”
The key for the Sailors this week, as well as the entire season,
will be protecting the ball. In last season’s loss, Trabuco Hills had
two interceptions and recovered one Newport Harbor fumble.
Junior Kasey Peters, who completed 4 of 11 passes last season in
limited duty, makes his first start at quarterback for the Sailors.
Running back Matt Encinias, who takes over the featured back role as
a senior, will be the other Sailor primarily responsible for
protecting the ball.
“Offensively, we need to take care of the football,” Brinkley
said. “On special teams, we can’t give up any big plays and we need
to make sure we have good ball security there too. Defensively, the
big thing is alignment and assignment, making sure everyone is in the
right spot and knows their assignment. Our kids are going to be
aggressive. They’ll hit you. We play physical football on the
defensive side.”
But, in addition to that aggressiveness, Brinkley is emphasizing
staying calm, particularly to his young players and first-time
starters.
If they can do that, then it’s possible the Sailors will be
successful on two fronts: gaining revenge against the Mustangs and
beginning a new season-opener winning streak.
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