Sailors advance to CIF playoffs

Patrick Laverty

Newport Harbor High’s football team did exactly what it needed to do

during the last two weeks of the regular season, now comes the hard

part.

The Sailors received the lone at-large berth for the CIF Southern

Section Division VI playoffs, but drew top-seeded and undefeated Los

Altos, the defending champion.

After its dominating victory over Woodbridge Friday, there was no

lost sleep for Sailors Coach Jeff Brinkley, who was confident of his

team’s playoff berth, but knew what lie ahead.

“Once we won and Gahr had lost, [the at-large berth] was pretty

much sealed,” Brinkley said. “I think if even Gahr had won we would

have gotten in.

“We weren’t really sure [about the draw]. We knew it was going to

be one of three schools, [Orange] Lutheran, Los Altos or maybe Villa

Park. Possibly, if they were seeded, we had an outside shot of

Mayfair.”

The Sailors drew Los Altos and though it’s hard to look ahead

playing against the No. 1 seed, Valencia, the second-place team from

the Empire League, and Tustin, the second-place entry from the

Century League, are possible second-round opponents.

It will be the first-ever meeting between Newport Harbor (7-3) and

Los Altos (10-0). But though Sailors fans may not know much about the

Conquerors, Brinkley is very familiar with their accomplishments.

“Absolutely,” Brinkley said. “They’ve had a great run. They’re a

program with a lot of tradition. They’ve won a lot of football

games.”

More than just games, the Conquerors have won 10 CIF Southern

Section championships, including three in the last four seasons. Last

season, after moving from Division VII to Division VI, Los Altos

defeated Newport Harbor’s Sea View League rival, Foothill, in the

championship game.

Coming into Friday’s first-round game, which is at Los Altos High

at 7:30 p.m., Los Altos has won 16 consecutive contests. Conquerors

Coach Greg Gano is 75-13 since taking over the program.

But the Sailors come into the playoffs with an impressive resume

of their own. This will be Newport Harbor’s 14th playoff appearance

in 18 seasons under Brinkley and the Sailors have posted a 25-11

postseason record in their previous 13 appearances.

The Sailors won CIF championships in 1994 and 1999 and reached the

title game 1992, 1996 and 2000.

What will be a new experience for Newport Harbor is the role of

underdog, but that could actually be a blessing.

“If anything, we should be going into this week more relaxed,”

Brinkley said. “Now we made the playoffs. Obviously, we’re going to

be the underdog, we just need to let it all hang out.”

The Sailors made the playoffs by winning their final two games,

but Los Altos is likely the most talented team Harbor has faced all

season.

The Conquerors are led by defensive end Brigham Harwell and strong

safety Daniel Drayton, both of whom have already made commitments to

UCLA.

Harwell, 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, recorded 22 sacks as a sophomore

and 25 sacks last year, when he was selected the Division VI

defensive player of the year. He will be taking aim at Tom Jackson,

Harbor’s 6-foot, 152-pound sophomore quarterback, Friday.

“[Harwell is] a good player, no doubt about it,” Brinkley said.

“He can move around and he’s a big guy. He’s equally impressive on

offense. They’ve been playing him at fullback and he’s quite a

blocker.”

Drayton, who also plays offense, gives Los Altos a secondary

presence that they will likely use to concentrate on Newport Harbor

standout junior receiver Spencer Link.

Link scored a pair of touchdowns, including a 95-yarder, in

Friday’s game, and he, Jackson and senior tailback Matt Encinias will

need to put points on the board if the Sailors wish to keep pace with

Los Altos, which is averaging more than 37 points a game.

The 42 points the Sailors scored Friday against Woodbridge would

be a good starting point.

“I think we’re playing better,” Brinkley said. “I think we

probably gained a little confidence again [Friday]. I still think our

best game is ahead of us.”

Of course, Brinkley would like that game to arrive on schedule,

Friday at 7:30 p.m.

“We will need it,” Brinkley said. “We need to play our best game.”