Sailors surging into semifinals

monday morning quarterbacksAnd then there was one.

The Newport Harbor High football team advanced to the CIF Southern Section semifinals for the eighth time in 12 seasons, but Corona del Mar and Sage Hill came up shy in their respective quarterfinal clashes Friday.

The Sailors (9-3) upset No. 3-seeded Charter Oak, 28-7, in a CIF Division VI contest at Newport Harbor on Friday. The win sets up a semifinal clash with Tustin (6-6), Saturday at Tustin High. Kickoff is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m.

Here’s a look at the three Newport-Mesa schools that competed last week:

* NEWPORT HARBOR: The Sailors’ defense was pliable but productive against the visiting Chargers (8-4), who rolled up 497 yards of offense, but managed just one touchdown.

Charter Oak, which had averaged just more than 33 points during its four-game winning streak entering the contest , snapped the ball on seven different possessions at or inside the Newport Harbor 20-yard line. It failed to score all seven times. In addition, the Sailors intercepted passes at their own 19 and 11, on plays that began near midfield.

Charter Oak’s lone touchdown was a 60-yard pass completion, leaving the Sailor defenders no time to bow their necks.

“The most impressive thing was how our defense toughened up down by the goal line,” Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said.

The Chargers’ frustration in the red zone began on their first possession. After earning first-and-goal at the Tars’ 1-yard line, Newport Harbor defensive end Mike Calabrese poked the ball loose while tackling Charter Oak tailback Brian Hunter. Cornerback Fernando Lara pounced on the fumble, allowing the Sailors to keep the game scoreless.

Charter Oak had first-and-goal at the 2 on its second possession, but went backward and eventually missed a 30-yard field-goal attempt.

Subsequent Charter Oak drives reached the Newport Harbor 20, 13, 17, 20 and 11. But, each time, the Sailors did what it took to keep the Chargers off the scoreboard.

Another resounding positive for the Sailors was perfection on PATs.

Lara successfully made all four conversion kicks, all of which sailed high above and well beyond the crossbar.

It was the first time all season the Tars were perfect on conversion kicks when they had attempted more than three.

Newport’s struggles in the kicking game helped prompt Brinkley to go for the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime of a 32-31 first-round win over El Dorado.

Before Friday, the Sailors were just 20 of 30 on conversion kicks. They had failed on at least one PAT in seven games this season.

Brinkley, who jokingly said his kicking game was “a thrill a minute,” said he is confident Lara, the fourth player the Sailors have used to kick conversions this season, will solidify the role.

“We’ve been keeping everybody on the edge of their seats,” Brinkley said. “But Fernando [who made his first attempt in the regular-season finale against Laguna Hills], has had a chance to practice a little more and he is kicking the ball well.”

The matchup with Tustin, guided by former Costa Mesa head man Myron Miller, represents an intriguing strategic challenge for Brinkley and his staff.

The Tillers, who upset defending division champion Orange Lutheran, 42-23, in the opening round and handled Sea View League tri-champion Aliso Niguel, 28-10, in the quarterfinals, run the smashmouth double wing offense.

It’s the first time Brinkley has faced a double wing team in his 20 seasons at Newport Harbor. Sailors’ defensive coordinator Tony Ciarelli, however, has some experience against the offense that typically features two tight ends and runs as many as three lead blockers into the off-tackle hole ahead of the ballcarrier.

Ciarelli, in fact, played Miller’s Tustin teams when Ciarelli was the head coach at Huntington Beach High.

“We’re still in the developmental stages of coming up with our [defensive game] plan,” Brinkley said Sunday.

* CORONA DEL MAR: A team that surpassed expectations nearly extended the school’s deepest postseason run in 11 seasons before falling to No. 2-seeded La Habra, 8-7, in the Division IX quarterfinals Friday at Orange Coast College.

“I really think we did a whole lot more than people expected,” Sea Kings Coach Dick Freeman said. “After losing the seniors we lost last year, I think people wanted to wait and see what this team would do. I think it exceeded everyone’s expectations.”

The Sea Kings began the season 2-0, lost five straight (including a victory subsequently forfeited to Calvary Chapel), then won three in a row, including the program’s first playoff victory since 1995.

But La Habra (10-2) escaped the near-upset by virtue of two field goals and a safety.

A strong return of the free kick that followed the safety set up the Highlanders’ game-winning 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Freeman said his players took the loss hard.

“The hard part was knowing what they could have done,” Freeman said. “Maybe the most disappointing thing was not getting another shot at [Pacific Coast League rival] Northwood.”

A victory Friday would have propelled the Sea Kings into a semifinal clash with Northwood, which defeated CdM, 21-0, on Oct. 6.

The Sea Kings’ strong defensive performance against La Habra was emblematic of a solid season by that unit, Freeman said.

“La Habra had been averaging 33 points a game, but it didn’t get into the end zone against us,” Freeman said.

Freeman said one focus during the offseason will be to bring in an offensive coordinator who can establish a productive system.

“This team worked really hard and I think we have a good group of freshmen coming up,” Freeman said.

* SAGE HILL: Coach Tom Monarch said the Lightning played to their full potential in a 65-28 loss to host Campbell Hall in the CIF Division XIII quarterfinals.

“I have coached teams in the past where we’ve had phenomenal athletes and we lost early in the playoffs,” he said. “With this team, I’ve taken it as far as it could have gone. It’s a lot better feeling to play to your full potential than to lose feeling you were out coached or out played.”

With the loss, Sage Hill concluded its best season, finishing 9-2. Its first-round win over Pasadena Poly on Nov. 18 was the first postseason victory in the program’s four varsity seasons.

After crumbling to the majority of their opponents for three seasons, the Lightning came of age this fall, largely behind the senior leadership and dominant performances of tailback Keya Manshadi.

Sage Hill’s potent ground attack was book ended by junior fullback Don Ayres.

Manshadi totaled a team-high 22 touchdowns on the year, while Ayres had 14.

The Lightning will miss the all-purpose services of Manshadi next season, Monarch said.

“He’s a great young man, on and off the field,” Monarch said. “He’s not only an exceptional football player, but he’s a and exceptional young man, and we’re going to miss him more as a young man than we will on the football field.”

The future of the team will largely be in the hands of Ayres, sophomore quarterback Jamie McGee and junior receiver Braden Ross.

McGee flashed some of his potential in Friday’s loss to the Vikings (9-3), completing 17 of 35 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns. McGee completed the season throwing for 21 scores.

“Jamie did a tremendous job,” Monarch said. “After that game I was talking to our offensive coordinator, Brad Gossen, and we agreed that we can see him passing 35-45 times a game next year. We’re very confident in his ability and potential.”

Campbell Hall was focused on shutting down the Lightning’s ground game, Monarch said, so the team had to rely on the arm of McGee, who completed all three of his touchdown passes in the second half -- two to senior receiver Zach Milder (for 41 and 50 yards).

-- Chris Yemma contributed to this report