Rivals set for Battle of the Bay

Newport Harbor High football coach Jeff Brinkley has long contended

that the annual Battle of the Bay against Corona del Mar is just

another game.

And, with the Sailors having won six straight and 10 of the last

11 confrontations with their Back Bay brethren, it’s becoming more

and more difficult to argue the point.

The two schools will meet for the 44th time in a nonleague clash

Friday at 7 p.m. at Orange Coast College. And the Sailors (2-0),

ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division VI, enter as the

favorites yet again.

CdM (2-1), ranked No. 8 in CIF Division IX, built a 17-0 lead

against the Tars last season, only to see Newport score twice in the

final 3:27 to escape with a 21-17 triumph.

Newport Harbor used similar late dramatics to win by an identical

score last week against Marina and has lost just once in its last 16

games.

CdM which trails the Back Bay series, 31-12, is hardly ready to

acknowledge any inferiority complex.

“Our kids aren’t afraid of those kids,” Sea Kings Coach Dick

Freeman said. “It’s just another football game and we think we can

win. The last couple years [including a 29-14 Sailor win in 2003], we

did ourselves in. [The Sailors] big-played us.”

The Sea Kings’ sophomores still have the vivid memory of their

24-8 victory last season in the freshman game.

But the last time the Sea Kings hoisted the perpetual Bell trophy,

this year’s seniors were in the fifth grade.

“[The Sea Kings] have some people who can play,” Brinkley said.

“We just want to go out and play better.”

The Sailors have featured a pair of running backs thus far. Senior

Jack Tracy has 191 yards on 28 carries, while junior Jasen Ruiz, who

sat out against Marina with a hip flexor strain, collected 126 yards

on 23 carries in the season-opening win over Fountain Valley.

Senior quarterback Tom Jackson has completed 26 of 44 passes for

292 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception for the

Sailors. His 23-yard scoring pass to Jarrett Daniel with 12 seconds

left was the difference in the Tars’ win over Marina.

Daniel, a junior, has 10 catches for 79 yards and two TDs, while

James Coder, a senior, has eight catches for 130 yards and one TD for

the Sailors.

Senior Matt Loyd spearheads the Sea Kings’ ground game. He has

rushed for 482 yards and four TDs on 65 carries this fall.

Senior Colin Wigley is scheduled to make his second start at

quarterback for CdM. He is 10 of 22 passing for 202 yards and two

TDs, with one interception this season.

The Sea Kings’ leading receiver is junior Steve Hillgren, who has

eight catches for 206 yards and one TD.

The Sea Kings are led defensively by returning All-CIF end Matt

Burgner, three-year starting linebacker Shaun Mohler and 6-foot-3,

240-pound noseguard John Fairbanks. Burgner has 29 career sacks and

Mohler had 16 tackles in the Sea Kings’ 25-18 loss to Troy Friday.

Tracy, who plays middle linebacker, is among the defensive leaders

for the Sailors.

Junior tackle Mike Calabrese (6-1, 221) has emerged as a force on

a Sailor front wall that also includes senior nose Ryan Uhl.

Uhl’s father, Scott, is the strength and conditioning coach for

CdM.

Freeman’s nephew, Mike Freeman, who was a senior standout on

Newport Harbor’s unbeaten CIF championship team in 1994, before

starring at Orange Coast College and Cal, will be the honorary

captain Friday for the Sailors.

Mike Freeman also worked as an assistant coach at CdM.

The connections, however, don’t stop there, as many players on

both teams were teammates in Junior All-American football.

Jackson threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Burgner in 2001

to help the Newport-Mesa Junior Midget Seahawks win the division

Super Bowl.

YEAR BY YEAR RESULTS

Sea Kings-Sailors

1963 -- Newport Harbor 13, Corona del Mar 12

1964 -- Corona del Mar 20, Newport Harbor 0

1965 -- Newport Harbor 13, Corona del Mar 7

1966 -- Newport Harbor 28, Corona del Mar 0

1967 -- Newport Harbor 20, Corona del Mar 0

1968 -- Newport Harbor 21, Corona del Mar 6

1969 -- Newport Harbor 14, Corona del Mar 6

1970 -- Newport Harbor 7, Corona del Mar 0

1971 -- Corona del Mar 7, Newport Harbor 0

1972 -- Corona del Mar 21, Newport Harbor 0

1973 -- Newport Harbor 31, Corona del Mar 3

1974 -- Newport Harbor 16, Corona del Mar 6

1975 -- Newport Harbor 33, Corona del Mar 13

1976 -- Newport Harbor 7, Corona del Mar 0

1977 -- Newport Harbor 10, Corona del Mar 7

1978 -- Newport Harbor 9, Corona del Mar 7

1979 -- Newport Harbor 21, Corona del Mar 7

1980 -- Newport Harbor 15, Corona del Mar 0

1981 -- Corona del Mar 6, Newport Harbor 0

1982 -- Newport Harbor 21, Corona del Mar 7

1983 -- Newport Harbor 7, Corona del Mar 3

1984 -- Newport Harbor 34, Corona del Mar 8

1985 -- Corona del Mar 15, Newport Harbor 14

1986 -- Corona del Mar 13, Newport Harbor 10

1987 -- Corona del Mar 6, Newport Harbor 0

1988 -- Corona del Mar 27, Newport Harbor 8

1989 -- Newport Harbor 8, Corona del Mar 7

1990 -- Corona del Mar 13, Newport Harbor 3

1991 -- Newport Harbor 27, Corona del Mar 0

1992 -- Corona del Mar 17, Newport Harbor 0

1992* - Newport Harbor 28, Corona del Mar 21

1993 -- Corona del Mar 23, Newport Harbor 0

1994 -- Newport Harbor 7, Corona del Mar 6

1995 -- Newport Harbor 7, Corona del Mar 3

1996 -- Newport Harbor 55, Corona del Mar 8

1997 -- Newport Harbor 42, Corona del Mar 20

1998 -- Corona del Mar 28, Newport Harbor 18

1999 -- Newport Harbor 35, Corona del Mar 3

2000 -- Newport Harbor 35, Corona del Mar 7

2001 -- Newport Harbor 47, Corona del Mar 7

2002 -- Newport Harbor 17, Corona del Mar 0

2003 -- Newport Harbor 29, Corona del Mar 14

2004 -- Newport Harbor 21, Corona del Mar 17

* Battle of the Bay II (CIF semifinal)

Newport leads series, 31-12

NEWPORT STARTERS

*--*

OFFENSE

No. Player Ht. Wt. Yr. Po.

4 Tom Jackson 6-1 185 Sr. QB 32 Jack Tracy 6-1 220 Sr. TB 19 Nick Frazier 5-11 210 Jr. FB 5 James Coder 6-0 180 Sr. WR

8 Jarrett Daniel 6-0 170 Jr. WR

22 Billy Brown 6-3 210 Sr. TE

77 Charles Schultz 6-4 332 Sr. LT

76 Alex Flores 6-2 206 Sr. LG

52 Lou Truxton 6-1 211 Sr. C

72 Billy Munce 6-0 259 Sr. RG

78 Matt McCullough 6-5 275 Sr. RT

*--*

*--*

DEFENSE

No. Player Ht. Wt. Yr. Po.

50 Jayme Ohlhaver 5-11 187 Sr. DE 95 Ryan Uhl 6-0 270 Sr. NG

55 Mike Calabrese 6-1 221 Jr. DT 40 Scott Andrews 6-1 201 Sr. DE 22 Billy Brown 6-3 210 Sr. LB

32 Jack Tracy 6-1 220 Sr. LB 23 David Rosales 5-10 205 Sr. LB 8 Jarrett Daniel 6-0 170 Jr. CB

9 Keith Eldridge 5-9 152 Sr. CB

5 James Coder 6-0 180 Sr. SS

4 Tom Jackson 6-1 185 Sr. FS *--*

CORONA DEL MAR STARTERS

*--*

OFFENSE

No. Player Ht. Wt. Yr. Po.

7 Shaun Mohler 6-3 200 Sr. QB

5 Matt Loyd 5-10 175 Sr. TB 43 Austin Ray 6-0 195 Jr. FB

2 Steve Hillgren 5-10 170 Jr. WR 8 Charlie Albright 5-9 165 Jr. WR

46 Avery Fenton 6-3 230 Sr. TE

60 John Fairbanks 6-3 240 Sr. LT

79 Aroin Lapuz 5-9 221 Jr. LG

61 Taylor Peselk 6-1 250 Sr. C

75 James McKennon 6-0 190 So. RG

76 Max Prescott 6-2 230 So. RT

*--*

*--*

DEFENSE

No. Player Ht. Wt. Yr. Po.

45 Matt Burgner 6-0 225 Sr. DE

60 John Fairbanks 6-3 240 Sr. NG

55 Keaten Price 6-2 210 Jr. DE

13 Erik Rask 6-0 170 So. LB

7 Shaun Mohler 6-3 200 Sr. LB

74 Michael Kidushim 5-8 175 So. LB

43 Austin Ray 6-0 195 Jr. LB

3 Ford Noe 6-1 190 Jr. LB 5 Matt Loyd 5-10 175 Sr. CB 2 Steve Hillgren 5-10 170 Jr. CB 8 Charlie Albright 5-9 165 Jr. S

*--*