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.