Two-minute drill

Newport Harbor High’s 90-0 scoring margin over its last two football

opponents may equate to a long stay in the CIF Southern Section

Division VI playoffs.

The last time the Sailors posted back-to-back shutouts was against

Woodbridge and Fairfax in 1999, the year the Tars finished 13-0-1 and

were crowned CIF Division VI champions.

Newport Harbor also had consecutive shutouts in 1992 against

Saddleback and Damien. The Sailors finished 11-3 and were the Division IV runners-up.

The last time Newport scored 90 points in two games was in the

first two rounds of the 2000 Division VI playoffs against Westminster

and Kennedy. The Sailors were the division runners-up that year.

* Estancia High Coach Craig Fertig and Santa Ana Coach Jesse Gomez

reminisced about college football before the Eagles and Saints kicked

off Thursday at the Santa Ana Bowl.

Both played for USC. Fertig was a quarterback in the 1960s and

Gomez was a long snapper in the 1990s. Gomez injured a knee against

Penn State and was helped off the field by Fertig.

“It was nice to have someone there in a time of need,” Gomez said.

It was not the last time Fertig helped comfort someone with a

football injury.

Santa Ana quarterback Daniel Urias had to have emergency brain

surgery the week before the Saints played Estancia last year. Fertig

visited Urias in he hospital and gave him a USC hat.

“There is a certain honor among men,” Gomez said, “and Coach

Fertig is a perfect example of that.”

* The renovations to the football field at Orange Coast College

received a rave review from former Pirate Greg Gibson Friday night.

Gibson, who coached his Orange High Panthers to a 43-21 Golden West

League victory over Costa Mesa, said afterward he was very impressed

by LeBard Stadium’s new FieldTurf.

“It’s awesome,” Gibson said. “We’re scheduled to get it next year

at our home field (at El Modena High).”

* Orange produced four touchdown “drives” of three plays and

another of just one, giving the Panthers five TDs on a combined 13

plays.

Costa Mesa, meanwhile, used 14 plays to drive 80 yards for its

second touchdown. The procession took 7 minutes, 18 seconds off the

clock.

* The 43 points surrendered by Costa Mesa Friday were the most by

a Mustang opponent in 62 games, dating back to a 53-35 loss to Irvine

in the first round of the 1988 CIF Southern Section Division VI

playoffs.

* The first half of the Costa Mesa-Orange game Friday ended in a

statistical rarity, as the two teams split the 24 minutes evenly in

time of possession.

* Four turnovers that all led to Orange touchdowns weren’t the

only indication it wasn’t Costa Mesa’s night Friday at OCC.

The banner players typically run through after halftime went

untouched when cheerleaders failed to hold it up in time. The

charging players stopped short of the 20-foot-high paper sign, most

of which remained on the ground, while the cheer squad scrambled to

get into formation high enough to hold it aloft.

* With three starters out due to injuries, Sage Hill School faced

an uphill battle from the start against a high-powered St. Margaret’s

offense averaging 41.5 points in its six victories.

Four freshmen started on defense for the Lightning.

The Tartans burst to a 28-0 lead after one quarter and finished

with a 49-0 victory.

A running clock (no stoppages) began near the end of the second

quarter and remained in effect throughout the second half.

* Monarch was candid when asked how he approached facing St.

Margaret’s, who has allowed just 70 points in eight games this

season.

“It is like going to the dentist, like getting a root canal,”

Monarch said.

* Sage Hill junior Bryan Kornswiet made his first start at

fullback against St. Margaret’s. Kornswiet is usually the team’s

center, but shifted to fullback to take the place of Don Ayres, who

moved to tailback in place of Keya Manshadi, who leads Sage with 12

rushing touchdowns.

Kornswiet gained 7 yards on five carries, before returning to his

familiar center spot.

Monarch said he learned a lesson about shifting players around.

“We want to keep kids in their original positions rather than

force feed the kids in positions they are not accustomed to,” he

said.

Monarch remains optimistic that Manshadi, who suffered a mild

concussion in a loss to Brethren Christian Oct. 30, and starting

receiver/cornerback Braden Ross (high ankle sprain) both will play

when against Capistrano Valley Christian in the regular-season finale

Friday at San Clemente High.

* The Lightning need a win in their regular-season finale against

host Capistrano Valley Christian Friday at 7 p.m. at San Clemente

High to at least have a chance at earning one of the league’s two

automatic berths into the CIF Southern Section Division XIII

playoffs.

Brethren Christian leads the league at 2-0 while St. Margaret’s

and Capo Valley Christian are each 1-1. A Sage win coupled with a

Brethren victory over St. Margaret’s would mean a three-way tie for

second and a coin flip.