Tars, CdM, Sage primed

monday morning quarterbacksNewport Harbor, Sea Kings, Lightning all add to confidence with big wins. Estancia joins the CIF postseason party.The Newport Harbor High football team clinched a share of the Sea View League championship, while Sage Hill and Corona del Mar also won regular-season finales to wrap up CIF Southern Section playoff berths.

Estancia had its postseason ticket punched despite a loss, while Costa Mesa saw its season come to a close.

Here’s a look at all five programs.

* NEWPORT HARBOR: It was a mixed bag for the Sailors Thursday. They rolled to a 33-13 triumph to hand Laguna Hills its first league loss and climb into what would become a three-way tie for the league championship.

But, they came out on the short end of a coin flip and were designated the league’s No. 3 playoff representative.

When the CIF Division VI playoff pairings were announced Sunday, however, the Newport Harbor coaching staff agreed with the suggestion that the Sailors received a more favorable first-round matchup than the Hawks, the league’s No. 1 playoff designee.

Newport Harbor (7-3) is on the road against Century League champion El Dorado (6-4) in Friday’s first round at Valencia High in Placentia at 7 p.m.

But Laguna Hills (4-6) drew Valencia of Placentia (9-1), which tied for the Empire League crown, but wound up the league’s No. 3 representative. Laguna Hills will be at home.

“Valencia, at 9-1, is a very tough opponent,” Brinkley said.

The Sailors, who earned back-to-back league titles for the first time in Brinkley’s 20 seasons at the helm, enter the playoffs healthy and confident.

“We’re playing very well right now,” said Brinkley, whose team defeated El Dorado, 35-10, in the first round last season.

* SAGE HILL: The Lightning secured second place in the Academy League with a 56-6 victory over Capistrano Valley Christian Friday.

Coach Tom Monarch said the win also provided a confidence boost following the Lightning’s first loss all year -- a 56-8 league setback to unbeaten St. Margaret’s on Nov. 4.

“That’s what it’s all about; confidence,” Monarch said. “It was a very important win for us.”

Junior fullback Don Ayres rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while senior tailback Keya Manshadi totaled 72 yards on the ground and found the end zone twice against the Eagles (0-9, 0-3).

Sophomore quarterback Jamie McGee threw for 145 yards and three scores with no interceptions, and senior receiver Zach Milder hauled in three catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns.

The win prevented the Lightning from having to seek an at-large postseason berth -- the route the squad took last season to reach the playoffs.

Described by Monarch as the best team Sage Hill has ever fielded, this year’s squad opens the postseason against visiting Pasadena Poly (5-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Panthers are a much better team than their record indicates, Monarch said.

“If they weren’t in [the Prep League], they would be undefeated in local leagues around here, easily,” he said. “But we’re going to come in with a lot of confidence.”

Sage Hill enters the postseason relatively free from injuries to key players, something that’s essential in dealing with Division XIII squads without a lot of depth.

“Being that we have the depth of a wading pool, it’s pretty remarkable,” Monarch said.

Should the Lightning survive the first round, powerhouses Campbell Hall (7-3) or California School for the Death (10-0) will be waiting.

* CORONA DEL MAR: The Sea Kings (6-4) survived a five-game losing streak (including a victory later forfeited to Calvary Chapel due to the use of an ineligible player) to not only make the postseason, but strike fear into the hearts of some potential CIF Division IX playoff foes.

CdM hammered University, 47-17, Friday in a showdown for the Pacific Coast League’s final guaranteed CIF berth, though University (5-5) also advanced as an at-large selection.

The Sea Kings visit Garden Grove (8-2) in Friday’s first round. It’s a game many believe they can win.

The Argonauts, Garden Grove League runners-up, defeated Estancia, 40-19, earlier this season.

CdM beat Estancia, 26-6.

“We’ve played pretty well all year, even though our record may not show it,” CdM Coach Dick Freeman said. “We’re not a bad football team.”

The Sea Kings are averaging 46 points their last two games and senior tailback Matt Loyd appears to have come through the knee soreness that slowed him for the early part of the league schedule.

Loyd, who had 482 yards after three games, amassed 232 against Uni to up his season total to 1,094.

Freeman said the strength of the Pacific Coast League -- two-time league champion Tesoro is the defending Division IX champion and Northwood enters the playoffs at 9-1 -- helped the Sea Kings get a better playoff draw.

* ESTANCIA: Though the Eagles’ 2-8 record is the worst among the 208 teams in the 11-man football playoffs -- Bellarmine-Jefferson (2-6) in Division XII is the only other without at least three wins -- first-year Eagles Coach Brian Barnes wanted no part of the “happy to be here,” cliché at Sunday’s pairings announcement.

“Teams that are happy to be in the playoffs are happy to go home real quick,” said Barnes, whose team opens against Santa Fe (10-0), the No. 1 seed in Division VII, Friday at Pioneer High at 7 p.m.

But few outside the Estancia campus can be expecting a first-round upset, especially after the Eagles ended their regular season with a 39-0 drubbing at the hands of Santa Ana.

A win would have given the Eagles the league’s No. 3 playoff spot. But a Southern Section change this season allowing seven-team leagues to send four teams to the playoffs (except in divisions IX and X), helped Barnes add to a foundation he hopes will lead to consistent future success.

“It’s great being in the playoffs, which is something the school has not done [since 2000],” Barnes said. “It’s great for the kids, for the community and for the school. But we want to get to the point where making the playoffs is expected.”

* COSTA MESA: The Mustangs’ season ended with a 48-2 Golden West League loss to Orange Friday.

Key injuries helped lead to an 0-7 start under first-year coach Jay Johnson, before a shift from the spread offense to the double wing prompted consecutive league wins over Saddleback and Ocean View.

But the change came too late to prevent the school’s second straight losing season, its first back-to-back losing campaigns since 1991-92. Mesa missed the playoffs for the third straight year.

-- Chris Yemma contributed to

this report