Tars thankful for success

Rick Devereux

The El Dorado High football team accomplished one of its goals

against Newport Harbor in the first round of the CIF Southern Section

Division VI playoffs Friday.

“We want to neutralize No. 44,” El Dorado Coach Jeff Bailey said

before the game.

Trevor Theriot, who wears No. 44 for the Sailors, gained 34

rushing yards in Newport’s 35-10 victory over the Golden Hawks.

Theriot, who averaged more than 11 yards per carry, sprained his

ankle when he was tackled from behind following a 27-yard burst to

open Newport’s second possession. Even though Theriot was running on

the sideline without a limp, he did not return to the game.

“He was moving around fine at halftime,” Coach Jeff Brinkley said.

“It wasn’t necessary for us to use him in the second half.”

It wasn’t necessary because Newport Harbor (10-0-1) had a 28-3

lead at intermission and junior Ryan Rippon was filling in nicely

with 85 rushing yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Rippon

finished with a game-high 163 rushing yards on 26 attempts.

Brinkley expects Theriot back in the lineup this week.

Even though the Golden Hawks routinely stacked seven and eight

players near the line of scrimmage to try to stop the run, Newport

Harbor averaged more than 6 yards per rushing attempt.

Tackles Steve Joslin and Charles Schultz, guards Efrain Castro and

Joseph Flores and center Chris Taylor opened holes for the runners.

They also gave quarterback Kasey Peters, who finished with a

game-high 177 passing yards and two touchdowns, time to find open

receivers.

Newport Harbor plays host to Charter Oak (8-3) Friday. The

Chargers were tri-champions of the Miramonte League and beat Kennedy,

37-22, last week to advance to the quarterfinals.

That means the Sailors will have their traditional Thanksgiving

morning practice open to alumni. The practice is scheduled to start

at 9 a.m.

“In high school football, you know you’re having a good year if

you have to practice on Thanksgiving, just like in college football

if you have to practice on Christmas” Brinkley said. “It’s a neat day

to be with your family and this is sort of like an extended family.”

* CORONA DEL MAR: Losing is never enjoyable, but CdM Coach Dick

Freeman can take positives out of his team’s performance in the 34-31

overtime loss to La Habra in the first round of the Division IX

playoffs.

“We out-played them,” Freeman said. “That was the best all-around

effort we have had all year.”

The Sea Kings (6-5) took leads of 14-0, 21-14 and 28-21 in

regulation and scored on a 26-yard field goal to go up, 31-28, in

overtime.

CdM reached overtime when senior Kevin Welch and junior Shaun

Mohler blocked La Habra’s would-be game-winning field goal at the end

of regulation.

“[The ball] hit Mohler’s hand before it hit mine,” Welch said. “It

was more of his block than it was mine but we both hit the ball.”

The season was filled with highs and lows, but Freeman was pleased

with the intensity this year.

“This was the first team in my coaching career that was not

out-hit in any of the games it played,” he said. “We earned a lot of

respect from other teams. Schools know going into a game against CdM

they are going to get hit. We are not a little beach school anymore.”

Freeman said the 27 seniors were instrumental in instilling a

solid work ethic.

“We’re going to lose a lot of seniors,” he said. “I think the way

our seniors played, it showed the underclassmen what it takes to play

the game of football.”

Freeman said the loss to La Habra was an example of what the

senior leadership meant to the team.

“We answered everything they did,” Freeman said. “There is no

doubt that was our best game of the year. In no way am I disappointed

in how we played.”

* SAGE HILL: The Lightning made one of the most remarkable

turnarounds in Orange County football by following up last year’s 1-8

campaign with a 7-4 season and the program’s first trip to the

Division XIII playoffs.

Even though Sage lost, 32-8, in the opening round to No. 3-seeded

Linfield Christian, the team did not give up hope.

“The No. 1 thing I liked about the game was we played a quality

opponent in Linfield Christian and we hung in there,” Coach Tom

Monarch said. “There were times we could have fallen apart, but our

inspirational level was high throughout the game.”

The biggest difference from previous years to this fall was the

ability to keep opponents out of the end zone.

“Our defense is our biggest improvement,” Monarch said.

Opponents averaged more than 32 points in 2003 and more than 28

points in 2002, the first year Sage Hill fielded a varsity football

team.

During the 2004 regular season, the defense held opponents to 15.8

points per game.

Before the season started, Monarch and his staff had a goal to

finish 5-5, a win total eclipsed by the seventh game of the season.

“Our goal was to get together as a coaching staff after every game

and see if our kids played to their fullest potential,” Monarch said.

“I don’t think there is a coaching staff in Orange County that

wouldn’t be happy if they had their kids play as hard as ours did.”