Video review sometimes torturous

First comes the devastation, then the dissection. Sometimes, the

latter can be more excruciating than the former for high school

football coaches, who seldom wait 24 hours to pick through the

videotape remains of their latest loss.

For Newport Harbor High Coach Jeff Brinkley, this meant scanning

the images of Friday’s 23-20 nonleague overtime setback to visiting

Mira Costa.

In the process, a handful of potentially game-changing plays

emerged.

“You torture yourself with a lot of thoughts about a lot of

different things,” Brinkley said.

Among those would be the events surrounding a key play early in

the fourth quarter, when the Sailors inadvertently snapped the ball

on fourth-and-inches from their own 15-yard line when they were

trying to draw the Mustangs offside with a hard count.

Brinkley said the reason for the miscue was that the signals being

called mistakenly included a word that triggers an audible. Brinkley

said a handful of players reacted as if the audible had been called,

when, in reality, it was simply a mistaken cadence. Among those who

reacted to the audible was the center, Brinkley said.

More key plays involved the kicking game, as the Sailors, playing

without starting kicker Travis Duffield, missed one conversion kick,

had another blocked, then missed a 24-yard field goal attempt that

would have tied it in overtime.

Brinkley said two kickers were used, but the backup that received

the work on PATs in practice was not the one who attempted the

overtime field goal.

“I told the kids afterward in the locker room that [the missed

field goal] was my fault, because I didn’t give [the overtime kicker]

any work in practice,” Brinkley said.

Regardless of the circumstances, the Sailors are dealing with

their second straight loss. It is the first time since 1995 they have

dropped two straight preleague games.

There were, however, several positives that came out of a

near-upset of Mira Costa (5-0), ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section

Division III.

The most obvious was the return of senior tailback Ryan Rippon,

who lifted the Sailor rooters and, arguably, the entire program, when

he bolted up the middle and bounced outside for a 50-yard run on his

second carry Friday.

Rippon, back from reconstructive knee surgery, finished with 102

yards on 19 carries and also caught two passes for 25 yards.

Another bright spot was the touchdown drive in the closing minutes

of regulation to force overtime.

Still another was that the Sailors not only gained more rushing

yards than the Mustangs (142-130), but also produced more through the

air (208-177).

“We outrushed them and outpassed them,” said Brinkley, who was

pleased with the effort his team exhibited.

“I think we found the difference between playing with effort

[against Mira Costa] and with less then our best effort [in an Sept.

30 loss at Dana Hills].”

The Sailors (3-2) will get a fresh start as they open defense of

their Sea View League title Friday at home against Woodbridge (0-5).

Sage Hill School produced the lone victory among Newport-Mesa

teams Thursday and Friday, as Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa and Estancia

were all dealt league defeats.

Here is a look back at those contests.

* SAGE HILL: While the running game has frequently fueled the Sage

Hill offense, sophomore quarterback Jamie McGee stepped to center

stage in the Lightning’s 47-6 nonleague victory over visiting Twin

Pines Friday night.

McGee completed 16 of 25 for 236 yards with three touchdowns and

no interceptions. He also ran for a 7-yard score as the Lightning

improved to 5-0.

Sage Coach Tom Monarch said he has been trying all season to

implement more of a passing game for when Academy League play rolls

around.

“I’m more concerned with having a successful passing attack in

league,” Monarch said. “If we’re one-dimensional, it’s easy to play

defense. Our goal is to make defenses spread out. We want them to

appreciate our running and passing games.”

Monarch said the timing in the passing game stood out most against

Twin Pines (1-4). But, he added, it’s not quite perfect yet.

“We’re about 80% there,” he said. “We just need to hit the

receivers a little more on the run.”

Senior receiver Zach Milder was McGee’s favorite target Friday,

hauling in six catches for 133 yards and two TDs. Senior tailback

Keya Manshadi caught the other touchdown pass.

And the running game was present, as usual. Junior fullback Don

Ayres rushed for 65 yards and a pair of scores, while Manshadi ran

for 32 yards and a TD.

Sage visits Silver Valley (0-5) at 7 p.m. Friday in its last

nonleague contest.

After a bye week, the Lightning play host to Brethren Christian

Oct. 28.

* CORONA DEL MAR: Five Sea King turnovers, including a fumble and

an interception returned for touchdowns, were easily enough to

provide Northwood a 21-0 Pacific Coast League win Thursday at Irvine

High.

The Timberwolves (6-0, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 1 in CIF

Division IX, managed just one extended scoring drive -- a 72-yard

touchdown procession to open the second half.

Aside from a 25-18 loss to Troy Sept. 16, the CdM defense has

surrendered only two touchdown drives of more than 20 yards against

five other opponents.

“We just can’t hurt ourselves playing offense,” CdM Coach Dick

Freeman said.

While finding ways to more effectively protect the ball, however,

the Sea Kings are also challenged to find ways to move the ball. They

have been blanked twice this season, posting an average of 117.5

yards in those two contests.

Freeman said a failure to pick up repeated blitzes, against the

run and the pass, prohibited his team from generating any offensive

flow Thursday.

The Sea Kings must solve things quickly if they are to compete

Friday at Tesoro, (4-1, 1-0), ranked No. 3 in Division IX and the

reigning league and division champion.

* ESTANCIA: First-year Eagles Coach Brian Barnes looks at Orange,

which thumped his team, 50-6, Friday, and sees evidence of the type

of turnaround he is trying to engineer.

“What were they before their coach [Greg Gibson, a former

defensive lineman at Orange Coast College and an assistant coach at

Estancia, among other schools] took over five years ago?” Barnes

asked, rhetorically.

The Panthers were 1-29 in the three seasons before Gibson arrived.

He installed the double wing offense and also emphasized weight

training and toughness.

After a 2-8 transition season in 2001, Orange has gone 7-4, 11-2,

8-3 and now 4-1, 1-0 in league.

“[Gibson] has built a program there and that’s what we want to do

at Estancia,” Barnes said.

The Eagles (1-4, 1-1) will play host to Garden Grove (4-2) in a

nonleague game Thursday at Newport Harbor High.

* COSTA MESA: The Mustangs’ turnover troubles continued in

Friday’s 47-6 Golden West League loss to Westminster at Orange Coast

College.

But, so did a much more positive trend for Coach Jay Johnson’s

squad.

The Mustangs (0-6, 0-2), who threw four interceptions and are now

minus-13 in turnover ratio this season, did not commit a single

penalty against the Lions (4-2, 2-0).

Mesa has totaled only 14 penalties this season, including just one

against both Estancia and Brea.

Johnson said it stems from the coaches’ general emphasis on

accountability, rather than any specific mention of penalties.

“We talk about being responsible for yourself and your teammates

and just doing the right thing, on the field and off,” Johnson said.

“We go over it and over it every single day and maybe that’s what is

showing up on the field.”

Senior tailback Ivan Ruiz also showed up Friday, collecting 106

yards on 25 carries for his second straight triple-figure rushing

output.