Sailors star as underdogs

Patrick Laverty

All too often, Newport Harbor High’s football team has been the

hunted.

Sailors Coach Jeff Brinkley often tells his team, they are the one

game opponents circle on their schedules, hoping to knock off a

school with a strong football tradition.

Almost always the favorites, the Sailors finally get to reverse

the tables Friday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section

Division VI playoffs.

The Sailors (7-3), fourth-place finishers in the Sea View League

and an at-large entrant into the playoffs, will travel to Los Altos

(10-0) in Hacienda Heights to take on the top-seeded, undefeated and

defending champion Conquerors at 7:30 p.m.

True underdogs for the first time all season, the Sailors will be

attempting to knock off a team that has won 10 CIF Southern Section

championships, including three in the last four years.

But those numbers alone won’t earn Los Altos a victory and

Conquerors Coach Greg Gano knows that.

“[Newport Harbor is] very good,” Gano said. “We didn’t get any

luck by drawing these guys. We’re the No. 1 seed and we drew a 7-3

team, but they’re the at-large team so I understand. I just think we

could have got some worse teams.”

For the Sailors, there wasn’t really a worse draw than Los Altos,

but no matter the opponent, the game plan doesn’t change.

“It’s like every week,” Sailors Coach Jeff Brinkley said. “We need

to take care of the ball, hopefully get some first downs and keep

their offense standing on the sideline. They’ve got some speed and

they can hit you quick.”

The Conquerors are averaging 37.7 points per game and have allowed

just 9.4. They’ve scored at least 22 points in every game and haven’t

allowed more than 16.

Like any underdog, the key for Newport Harbor will be gaining some

early momentum. In an elimination game, that momentum can build to a

crescendo and as the game wears on, the longer the Sailors stick

around, the more fearful the favorites become of an upset.

“I think it’s more execute early,” Brinkley said. “We need to take

care of the football and execute so we don’t let them get any kind of

momentum going.”

Los Altos’ momentum is primarily produced by senior running backs

Randall Brown (862 yards, 17 touchdowns) and Daniel Drayton (553

yards). But the Conquerors are not afraid to throw the ball either.

They have two quarterbacks, senior left-hander Jason Estrada and

junior right-hander Daniel Sandello, who have each thrown for more

than 900 yards this season. Each quarterback plays one half, with the

switch made at halftime. Their top target is senior Tau Alo, who has

more than 700 yards receiving.

Brown, Drayton and Alo also play in the Conquerors’ secondary and

will take turns attempting to shut down the Sailors’ passing game

while 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive end Brigham Harwell provides the

pass rush. Harwell, who is approaching the school sack record held by

USC’s Shaun Cody, and Drayton have both committed to UCLA.

Slowing down Harwell, who has more than 60 sacks in his high

school career, will be a key as Sailors sophomore quarterback Tom

Jackson attempts to connect with junior receiver Spencer Link for big

gains.

“We can maybe stick a tight end over there, give them some extra

help if necessary,” Brinkley said. “But obviously, we’d like to go

with a basic scheme. Anytime you concentrate too much on one guy it

allows other guys to make the play.”

Gano said the Conquerors will be concentrating on shutting down

Link (53 receptions for 945 yards and 13 touchdowns) and senior

tailback Matt Encinias (236 carries for 1,287 yards and nine

touchdowns). But the Los Altos Coach has also been impressed with

Jackson, who took over under center after junior Kasey Peters went

down for the season with a broken collarbone.

“He’s a good quarterback for a sophomore,” Gano said. “Boy, he has

poise for only being a sophomore. They don’t lose a whole lot with

him in there.”

The Sailors will be attacking a defense that lost outside

linebacker Oscar Ibanez to a knee injury two weeks ago. The absence

of the three-year starter allowed Wilson’s Price Wilks to rush for

251 yards in Friday’s regular season finale, Gano said. It was the

first time a back had rushed for more than 100 yards against the

Conquerors this season.

Newport Harbor enters the game in good health. Senior left guard

Eric Watkins is expected to return to the starting lineup after

missing time with an ankle injury and junior free safety Alex Orth is

also expected to start after sitting out recently because of a back

injury. The only player ruled out this week is backup quarterback

Michael Green, who is still suffering symptoms from a concussion

earlier this season. Freshman Kevin Williams will be Harbor’s backup

against Los Altos.

A near full-strength squad is another plus for a team that is

attempting to pull off what would be a monumental upset in the minds

of most, though, Gano disagrees.

“We’re playing quarter-by-quarter,” Gano said. “We don’t look

ahead to the second round. They’ve got a great tradition. They’re

coming here to beat us. They’re not coming here to just play well.

They’re going to try to find our holes. We’ve got holes, just like

everybody else.”