Battling Sailors’ defense pointless

Rick Devereux

“Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible.”

George Orwell’s line regarding politics can be easily transferred

to high school football.

Newport Harbor High has been unbeatable. The Sailors (8-0-1, 3-0-1

in the Sea View League) have trounced their last two opponents a

combined 90-0.

The Sailors can clinch the outright league title, the fourth in

Coach Jeff Brinkley’s 18 seasons, with a win in the Sea View finale

Thursday against Woodbridge (4-4-1, 2-2).

A loss, combined with wins by Aliso Niguel and Foothill, would

give the crown to Aliso and force a coin flip between the Sailors and

Foothill to determine the league’s No. 2 playoff representative.

“You’re going to win games by playing great defense,” Coach Jeff

Brinkley said. “Right now the kids are playing real well on that side

of the ball. They take a lot of pride in having a dominating defense.

It doesn’t matter what level you are playing -- high school, college

or the pros -- most championship teams have an outstanding defense.”

The Sailors have allowed a league-low 75 points. The 8.3 points

per game is tied with CIF Southern Section Division I powerhouse

Loyola from Los Angeles for the ninth-lowest average among CIF

Southern Section schools.

“We are trying to be the No. 1 defense,” middle linebacker Thomas

Martin said.

Some teams are known for being great at stopping the run, while

others have a solid pass defense. Some teams have outstanding linemen

or linebackers or defensive backs.

The Tars are well-balanced and have few weaknesses on defense.

“We’ve played a lot of wide-open offenses that like to spread it

out and throw the ball and we’ve played teams that want to try to run

right at you,” Brinkley said. “I think it’s a team concept [on

defense] with everyone playing inside the system. We’ve played teams

with different strengths and we’ve matched up well against all of

them.”

The team concept is emphasized by the slogan on the T-shirts worn

by defensive players on game day.

“Eleven players, one heart.”

Newport Harbor is ranked No. 3 in CIF Division VI, behind Valencia

and Orange Lutheran, who meet to decide the Empire League

championship Friday at Valencia.

* CORONA DEL MAR: Despite a slow start against Pacific Coast

League rival University, CdM (5-4, 2-2 in league) rallied for the

42-14 victory.

“We did our normal thing of shooting ourselves in the foot,” Coach

Dick Freeman said, referring to a season-long propensity for

penalties. “It is normally our offense [that has a lot of penalties],

but our defense caught whatever bug our offense had and was the one

with all the penalties [against University].”

The Sea Kings were called for 12 penalties, the second-most this

year behind the 14 called in the Costa Mesa game in Week 2. The

penalties were costly.

A roughing the punter penalty kept University’s opening drive

alive, which led to a 69-yard touchdown pass three plays later. A

late hit out of bounds set up the Trojans’ second touchdown, an

11-yard run.

“Our defense would hold them [to a punting situation] and then we

would do something stupid,” Freeman said. “Our offense played OK. The

main thing is, we got the win. But we can’t play like that and beat

anyone in the playoffs.”

CdM is facing a must-win game at Laguna Beach (4-4-1, 0-3-1)

Friday at 7 p.m. A win against the Breakers would solidify a

third-place finish in the Pacific Coast League and a guaranteed CIF

Division IX playoff berth.

Still, as Orwell said, winners seem invincible. And CdM, despite

an average performance, won the game.

“We still have confidence in our abilities as a team,” Freeman

said. “I think if we can eliminate our penalties and mistakes, we can

play with anyone.”

* COSTA MESA: While Newport and CdM held up Orwell’s assertion

that winning creates an aura of invincibility, the inverse is also

true. Whoever is losing will seem susceptible.

The Mustangs were susceptible to turnovers in the, 43-21, Golden

West League loss to Orange.

“We gave them two quick, easy touchdowns,” Coach Tom Baldwin said.

“After that, we played them pretty tough.”

The Panthers scored twice in the first two minutes. The first

touchdown, a 23-yard run, was set up when Costa Mesa lost a fumble on

the opening kickoff. The second, a 21-yard run, was the product of an

interception on the Mustangs’ first offensive play.

“We did not block the [defensive end],” Baldwin said. “[The

pressure] forced [our quarterback] into a bad throw. It was too bad,

because Jeff [Waldron] had his guy beat deep. If [our quarterback]

was able to throw the ball, Jeff could have scored and the game would

have been, 7-7. That could have been all the difference in the

world.”

Baldwin said the Orange game was the most difficult in his

coaching career because he could not be with the team before, during

or after the contest due to being suspended for violating section

practice rules. Costa Mesa practiced with helmets and shoulder pads

during its bye week, when only helmets were allowed.

“I went to my friends’ house who recently had their first

grandchild and gave them a present and then I went out to diner with

my wife[ Friday night],” Baldwin said. “It was difficult because I

put so much time in preparing for the game and then I couldn’t be

near the kids.”

Baldwin, who serves as offensive coordinator on game day, did not

know if his absence had an effect on the outcome.

“We had a game plan and our coaches called the [offensive plays]

very much how I would have called it,” Baldwin said. “I felt we had

to throw the ball deep to beat [Orange]. I thought we needed to throw

the ball on first down. We tried to do both of those things.”

Costa Mesa plays crosstown rival Estancia (3-6, 1-4) Friday at

Orange Coast College at 7 p.m. in the Battle for the Bell.

A Mesa win, combined with a loss by Saddleback and a win by Santa

Ana, would create a three-way tie for third that would necessitate a

coin flip to decide the league’s third playoff representative.

* SAGE HILL: It was hard for Coach Tom Monarch to evaluate how his

team played in the 49-0 Academy League loss to St. Margaret’s Friday

because the lineup was shuffled around so much do to injuries.

Keya Manshadi, Braden Ross and Dylan Milstein were main

contributors on offense and defense throughout the season and all

three did not play against the Tartans.

“Those kids play both ways, so you’re looking at six positions

[that need to be filled],” Monarch said. “The kids played their

hearts out, as always. I think it’s hard to gauge our performance.”

Linebackers were shifted to cornerbacks, defensive linemen to

linebackers, fullbacks to tailbacks and linemen to fullbacks.

Monarch said the best way to describe the new players in new

positions was “it was foreign” to everybody.

“I think it really hurt us in our run defense,” Monarch said. “We

let [St. Margaret’s] run the ball early. Once it started to get out

of hand, we lost our concentration and fundamentals. A lot of it is

mental.”

Sage Hill (6-3, 0-2) allowed 211 rushing yards on the seven

touchdown runs alone and 241 total.

The injuries also affected the offense.

It was the first shutout in 10 games for the Lightning, who were

averaging more than 29 points and 221 rushing yards heading into the

game. Sage Hill gained a season-low 62 rushing yards against the

Tartans.

The Lightning play at Capistrano Valley Christian (4-5, 1-1)

Thursday at 7 p.m. Even if Sage finishes 0-3 in league, it’s six wins

make it an attractive candidate to land one of three available

at-large berths in Division XIII.

* ESTANCIA: The Eagles were eliminated from the playoff scenario

in Thursday’s 26-12 Golden West League loss to Santa Ana.

Injuries were a key factor in the loss, as running back Daniel

Cheesboro did not return to the game after he injured his left knee

near the end of the second quarter. Bryce McKendry, who started the

first seven games at running back, was sidelined with a bruised

thigh.

Fullback Dave Moreno lined up at tailback in the second half,

gaining 38 of his 40 rushing yards after the intermission. Backup

tight end Clayton Mills was switched to fullback.

Coach Craig Fertig elected to switch to an option offense, hoping

to force the Santa Ana defense into a missed assignment. But the

Saints played possibly their best game of the year.

“I think we finally were able to put together four quality

quarters,” Coach Jesse Gomez said. “We’ve been trying to emphasize on

defense and special teams to take advantage of the opportunities an

opposing team gives you, and we did that [against Estancia].”

The Eagles turned the ball over six times, two of which resulted

in Santa Ana touchdowns. The Saints also scored on a 59-yard punt

return.

“Gomez did a good job of getting his team ready and creating plays

when they needed to,” Fertig said after the game. “Our goal was to

get to the CIF playoffs. We came up short. Now we’re playing for the

city championship. We have a one-game season ahead of us.”

Friday will mark the 37th Battle for the Bell between the Eagles

and Costa Mesa. Estancia leads the series, 20-15-1, but the Mustangs

have won the last three by a combined, 73-6.