Tom Jackson

Patrick Laverty

Tom Jackson always knew he had a strong arm, but playing organized

football for the first time three years ago, he said he didn’t have

the courage to try out for quarterback.

He opted for wide receiver, but was made into a lineman. That was,

until his Jr. All-American coach saw him launch a ball 50 yards prior

to a practice and turned him into a quarterback.

When the playoffs rolled around, two players above Jackson on the

depth chart were injured and Jackson got his chance under center.

Recounting that story, which took place when the Newport Harbor

High sophomore was playing for the Newport-Mesa Seahawks, Jackson saw

the irony.

On Friday, when the Sailors line up for a first-round CIF Southern

Section playoff battle against Los Altos, Jackson will be the

quarterback, having risen from third on the depth chart to the leader

in the huddle because of injuries to the two players ahead of him.

It wasn’t what Jackson expected when he started his sophomore

season as the junior varsity quarterback.

“Absolutely not,” Jackson said. “I was just trying to learn

everything. Up to the Aliso [Niguel] week, I was in the dark.”

That week, second-string quarterback Michael Green was out with a

concussion. Jackson received a few repetitions in practice. But when

Kasey Peters broke his collarbone late in the fourth quarter, Jackson

suddenly found himself playing his first varsity game.

“I was in such a bit of shock that I barely remember anything,”

Jackson said.

But remind him of his 60-yard touchdown strike to Spencer Link

with 16 seconds remaining in the game and the memory becomes rather

clear.

“Needless to say, I was pretty excited at that point,” Jackson

said. “But I was just trying to win the game because I realized we

still had a chance. There were something like 30 seconds remaining

and if we recovered the onside kick...”

With Peters lost for the season and Newport Harbor falling to 0-2

in Sea View League play, there were a lot of ifs. The Sailors now had

an untested sophomore playing quarterback and three games remaining

to right the ship and make the playoffs for the fifth straight

season.

Though the next contest, against Irvine, was Harbor’s third

straight loss, Jackson proved that he was more than capable of

guiding the offense. He completed 12 of 26 passes for 161 yards and

two touchdowns and seemed to gain the confidence of his older

teammates.

“Just coming in, the main problem wasn’t knowing if I was going to

complete passes and move the ball down the field,” Jackson said. “It

was getting the guys to have confidence in me.”

The confidence increased with a 9-of-18 passing performance for

138 yards and a touchdown against Laguna Hills in a must-win game for

Newport Harbor. Needing a victory in the regular season finale, the

confidence culminated with an outstanding game by Jackson, who passed

for 257 yards and four touchdowns.

A self-described student at the beginning of the year, who was

attempting to gain a grasp of the offense, Jackson had become a main

weapon for the Sailors.

Of course, he was thankful that the Sailors had a couple other

weapons to ease his transition, namely senior tailback Matt Encinias

and junior receiver Spencer Link.

“That was a huge help,” Jackson said. “I can’t even describe it.

Just knowing they were all behind me. I mean, just give the ball to

Spencer and he’ll do the rest.”

Jackson did exactly that on his fourth touchdown pass Friday,

throwing a short route to Link who turned it into a 95-yard

touchdown.

“That’s all him, that’s not me,” Jackson said. But it does count

as one of the sophomore’s eight touchdowns in just over three games

this season, “Which I’m not shy to take credit for,” Jackson said

with a laugh.

The eight touchdowns are impressive enough, but Jackson has also

completed better than 49% of his passes and thrown just one

interception.

For all his success, he’s not even thinking about what will happen

when Peters returns in spring practice to prepare for his senior

season.

“I’m really trying not to look too far ahead,” Jackson said. “I’m

just trying to focus on Los Altos this week.”

No matter how he performs against the No. 1 seed, it will be tough

to bench a player who has had such success in such a short time, but

Peters is still the No. 1 quarterback.

“That’s the way it will probably start out in the spring, anyway.

Kasey’s the quarterback,” Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said.

“But they’ll both compete. Kasey will be given the first opportunity,

but we’re always open to competition.”

Jackson said he’ll play anyway should Peters be the starting

quarterback next year, though a return to the line doesn’t seem

imminent.

“Just playing would be great,” Jackson said. “I can’t describe it.

Just playing is a great feeling.”