Foothill leaves Sailors stunned

Patrick Laverty

Sometimes a loss can mean much more than just a game in the

standings.

Just ask Cubs fans.

Like Chicago, which had its ace on the mound and a three-run lead

in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, Newport Harbor

High’s football team thought it had Sea View League favorite Foothill

right where it wanted the Knights after Spencer Link returned a

kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to give the Sailors a 24-10 lead

with 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Foothill, however, pulled off a Florida Marlins-like comeback,

scoring the final 21 points of the game, including two touchdowns

within the final 2:21, to stun Newport Harbor, 31-24, in front of an

estimated 5,000 fans on the Sailors campus Friday.

With four difficult league games remaining, Harbor Coach Jeff

Brinkley must make sure the Sailors (5-1, 0-1 in league) don’t lose

focus like the Cubs did.

“Like I told the kids, we are going to have to deal with some

adversity now,” Brinkley said. “The impact of the loss can only be

great if we let it affect us next week. We can’t control what’s

behind us. Hopefully, we can have the same focus for Aliso Niguel

next week. Hopefully, we can go down there and play better than we

did tonight.”

An entirely different message was expected from Brinkley after

Link’s kickoff return, which came right up the middle of the field.

But the Sailors’ defense, which had limited Foothill quarterback

Casey Daniels to 47 yards passing on 16 attempts until that point,

started to show some holes.

On the first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff,

Daniels hit Yoko Hamamura with a downfield pass. When two Newport

defenders collided attempting to make the play, Hamamura sprinted 71

yards to the end zone to pull the Knights (5-1, 1-0) back within a

touchdown, 24-17.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Foothill put together a

12-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a 7-yard touchdown pass

from Daniels to Mike Alba. Doug McAulay’s point-after attempt hit the

upright, but sneaked over the crossbar, tying the score, 24-24, with

2:21 to play.

Aiding the Knights’ drive were a pair of personal foul penalties

against Newport Harbor, both for late hits. The first came on a

third-down pass that came up short of the first down. The second came

on the very next play, giving Foothill the ball at the 7-yard line.

“We hit them late twice, I know that,” Brinkley said. “We weren’t

very disciplined and that’s my fault. It didn’t cost us the game, but

it certainly hurt us.”

Still, the worst-case scenario seemed to be overtime and against a

team that went to the CIF Southern Section Division VI final last

year, that wasn’t a bad option.

But on second-and-10 from the Harbor 45-yard line, Sailors

quarterback Kasey Peters was sacked and coughed up the ball. It was

recovered by Foothill’s Chris Meyer at the 30-yard line. It was the

first turnover of the game for either team.

“We ran a screen pass on the play he fumbled,” Brinkley said. “The

guy came off the edge and apparently [Peters] didn’t see him.”

Alba, who led all players with 165 yards rushing, ran 30 yards for

a touchdown on the Knights’ first play from scrimmage after the

turnover, giving Foothill its first lead since the first quarter,

31-24.

The Sailors has 1:10 left to work a miracle, but Peters was

intercepted for the first time this season trying to find Link on a

fly route with 22 seconds remaining.

The loss spoiled an excellent effort from Peters, who guided

Newport Harbor to its lead.

He threw for 172 yards on 14 of 22 passing, including 129 yards in

the first half.

With Foothill playing double coverage on Link, who still came up

with nine catches for 84 yards, Peters took advantage of tight end

Greg Miner over the middle. Miner caught four passes for 64 yards in

the first half, including an 11-yard touchdown that gave the Sailors

a 14-7 lead, 57 seconds before halftime.

“We played a little too soft,” Foothill Coach Doug Case said.

“Spencer Link’s a good football player and their quarterback’s a good

football player.

They’ve a very good football team. Newport Harbor’s going to have

something to say about this in the end.”

The Sailors added to their lead after an impressive drive to open

the third quarter.

The Sailors ran 14 plays before Brian Campos kicked a 28-yard

field goal, putting Harbor up, 17-7. Matt Encinias gained 24 yards on

the drive and finished with 104 yards on 23 carries, the fifth time

he’s gone over 100 yards this season.

But Foothill came back with a 14-play drive of its own, which

ended with a McAulay 27-yard field goal, bringing it back within a

touchdown.