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Rick Devereux

Mutual respect.

That is what Newport Harbor High football coach Jeff Brinkley and

Orange Lutheran Coach Jim Kunau have for each other as the top teams

in CIF Southern Section Division VI prepare to meet today at 2 p.m.

at Angel Stadium in the championship game.

“[Orange Lutheran] is a well-coached team,” Brinkley said. “They

don’t make many mistakes.”

Kunau said, “[Newport Harbor] presents a number of different

challenges and it all starts with coaching. They really don’t have a

weakness.”

The mutual admiration caries over into similar coaching styles

which have produced similar results.

Newport Harbor (12-0-1) is the No. 2 seed after holding opponents

to an average of 9.5 points during the regular season and 11.3 points

in the playoffs.

Orange Lutheran (12-1) is the No. 1 seed after holding opponents

to an average of 7.4 points during the regular season and 8 points in

the playoffs.

“Their defense is very similar to one of the fronts we run,”

Brinkley said of the Lancers’ four linemen and three linebacker

defensive alignment.

Points will be at a premium.

Orange Lutheran has a solid defense led by defensive backs Zach

Heim and Brandon Rohr as well as tackle Pat Roxas.

“They’ll blitz,” Brinkley said. “They have a number of zone

blitzes an even some safety blitzes. They are very fast and very

well-coached.”

While zone blitzes are mostly seen in the professional ranks and

only sporadically in the collegiate level, Kunau does not feel his

defense is too complicated for high school players.

“There are some high schools that do [run zone blitzes],” Kunau

said. “That’s just part of our package.”

The zone blitz is designed to confuse the opposing quarterback

into thinking the defense is in man-coverage by rushing the passer

with a linebacker, cornerback or safety. However, a defensive lineman

will drop into zone pass coverage.

“It’s tough stuff,” Newport quarterback Kasey Peters said. “But

I’m confident our offensive line has the blocking schemes worked out

on how to protect it, so hopefully I’ll have enough time to read the

defense.”

The Lancers have only allowed four rushing touchdowns in 13 games.

Conversely, they have scored 46 rushing TDs this fall.

Orange Lutheran has also scored two touchdowns on interceptions

this year, including a 55-yard return by junior linebacker Blake

Lucas in the first round of the playoffs against Brea Olinda.

“Our defensive coordinator, Brent Vieselmeyer, has done an

excellent job all year,” Kunau said. “We only had four returning

starters [on defense], but they have really carried us to [to the

championship game].”

Brinkley said Orange Lutheran’s defense has many strong points.

“I think they may be a little bigger than us up front,” he said.

“But even more impressive than their size is their speed. They move

real well. We need to work hard on getting these guys blocked.”

The Sailors will counter with a balanced offense that has produced

24 passing touchdowns and 25 rushing scores so far this year.

Senior receiver Alex Orth leads the team with 10 offensive

touchdowns, including a team-high five TD receptions in the playoffs.

Senior receiver Spencer Link leads the team with 47 receptions for

665 yards.

Orth and Link each have 15 catches in the playoffs.

Junior James Coder is third on the team with 25 catches for 340

yards and four touchdowns.

Tight end Greg Miner has 222 yards and one touchdown on 13

receptions.

“I don’t have to worry about guys dropping a ball or running a

route wrong,” Peters said about his trust in the receivers.

Senior running back Trevor Theriot averaged 6.6 yards per carry

during the regular season, gaining 1,083 rushing yards and seven

scores on 163 carries.

The multiple weapons at Newport’s disposal create match-up

problems for the Lancers, Kunau said.

“They don’t have just one go-to guy,” he said. “You have to

account for everyone. You can’t try to just shut one guy down.”

Kunau said Peters was the main driving force behind the team,

despite throwing for more than 200 yards once all season when he

finished with a career-high 321 passing yards against Mayfair in the

semifinals Dec. 10.

“Kasey is playing at an All-CIF level,” Kunau said. “He is the

clear leader on that team.”

When Orange Lutheran has the ball, the Sailors will have to face

an option-oriented offense that has more than three times as many

rushing touchdowns (46) as passing TDs (14).

Still, Kunau believes the Lancers are dangerous through the air.

“We have passed for more than 2,000 yards,” he said. “We’re not

just a running team. We try to be fairly balanced.”

Sophomore quarterback Aaron Corp has passed for 1,922 yards and 13

touchdowns with four interceptions. He also has five rushing TDs.

Corp was thrust into the starting role when last year’s Player of

Year, quarterback Seth Blackamore, injured a knee before the season

started.

“Two weeks before our first game, the Blackamore went down,” Kunau

said. “[Corp] thought he was going to be an apprentice for a year.

We’re very pleased with how he has played.”

Roxas, who is the starting fullback as well as the star defensive

lineman, leads the Lancers with 19 touchdowns, all on the ground.

Senior running back Donny Lee is second with 14 total touchdowns,

12 rushing and two interceptions.

Senior receiver Brandon Rohr has a team-high seven touchdown

catches, followed by freshman tight end Blake Ayles’ four TD

receptions.

Brinkley said the option Orange Lutheran runs is slightly

different than other option-based teams the Sailors have faced this

season.

“They run a very disciplined option,” he said. “They aren’t going

to hand it off to the fullback every time or pitch it to the veer guy

every time.”

The Lancers’ offense shifts from formation to formation to add to

the confusion for defenses.

“Our biggest thing is to make sure we line up correctly,” Brinkley

said. “We don’t want to let them shift and then we leave somebody

uncovered.”

The Newport defense has been particularly sting against the run.

Opponents averaged 3.8 yards per rushing attempt through 13 games.

Only three players have rushed for more than 100 yards in a game

against the Tars, the last being Zack Leffel’s 165-yard performance

for Foothill in Week 5.

Opponents usually are forced to try to throw the ball early

because the ground game is ineffective. But the Sailors’ passing

defense is just as suffocating.

Teams average 107 passing yards against the Tars.

The pass defense is a combination of coverage skill and pass

rushing prowess. Newport has 16 interceptions and 24 sacks. Four

interceptions have been returned for touchdowns.

Newport’s stellar defense has given the offense confidence.

“It makes you know you don’t have to go out and win the game,”

Peters said. “You realize the defense will not allow a lot of points.

All we have to do on offense is get first downs. We don’t have to go

for the big plays.”

With two evenly matched teams, the game should prove to be very

competitive.

“These are two very similar programs,” Kunau said. “Both are

highly-disciplined and work extremely hard. I’m not glad to face such

a talented team, but it is always enjoyable to face a disciplined

team because you know there won’t be any nonsense going on. I have a

lot of personal respect for Coach Brinkley and the Newport program.”