Tars focused on Hawks

Rick Devereux

The way that the Newport Harbor High football team is playing right

now, the only team that could defeat them is themselves.

The offense is balanced. The defense is aggressive. The special

teams are stellar.

It appears that the only way the Sailors will lose is if they look

past an opponent or become overconfident and not prepare for a

seemingly easy game.

Such a trap could be set as Newport (7-0-1, 2-0-1 in the Sea View

League) plays host to Laguna Hills (0-8, 0-3) at 7 p.m. Friday. The

Sailors are currently in first place in the league and could claim

the program’s first league title since 2001 and the fourth under

Coach Jeff Brinkley if they win the remaining two games on the

schedule.

“I don’t think we will [look past Laguna Hills],” Brinkley said.

“Our guys are aware of what it takes to prepare for a football team.”

The preparation methods have been near perfect so far. Only a

10-10 tie with Foothill on Oct. 15 has kept Newport Harbor, ranked

No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division VI, from a perfect record.

Brinkley said that even though Laguna Hills has yet to win a game,

the Hawks have improved every week and will give Newport Harbor a

tougher time than what most might expect.

“Laguna Hills has been playing better ever since league started,”

Brinkley said. “The last two weeks have been their biggest outputs of

the season.”

Indeed, the 25 and 24 points against Foothill and Woodbridge,

respectively, were the most for the Hawks this year. However, Laguna

Hills surrendered 35 and 28 points, respectively, to remain winless.

Opponents average more than 29 points against the Laguna Hills

defense. The Hawks employ four linemen and three linebackers, but one

of the ‘backers stands over an offensive tackle and the defensive

linemen shift to make, basically, a five-man front. This defense was

made famous by the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears under coach

Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan. The defense is still

called the Bear 46 because of that team.

“They run the 46 a little different than some of the teams we’ve

played,” Brinkley said. “They’ll stand the linebacker up between the

tackle and guard. We have seen similar defenses, but not this exact

one.”

The Bear 46 is geared toward stopping the run because there are up

to eight players within five yards of the line of scrimmage if a

safety creeps up. It also pressures the offensive line in knowing who

to lock, especially in passing situations when different personnel

can rush the quarterback from different locations.

The Newport Harbor offensive line has given quarterback Kasey

Peters ample protection. The senior signal caller has been sacked six

times. Opposing quarterbacks have not been so lucky. The Newport

Harbor defense has registered 15 sacks.

The Sailor defense has been one of the best in all of CIF Southern

Section. The 9.4 points allowed per game is the 16th fewest out of

the 374 Southern Section teams. Walnut, which plays in the San

Antonio League in Division VII and has allowed 4.6 points per game,

is the stingiest.

Offensively, Laguna Hills runs various formations with two running

backs. The Hawks have three players wit more than 40 carries. The

trio has gained close to 850 yards with six touchdowns. Laguna Hills

has only scored two touchdowns through the air.

“They’ve scored some points recently,” Brinkley said. “They are a

well-coached team that will play hard. It would make their season if

they could knock us off. We won’t take them lightly.”