CIF football crown is tops for Tars

The Newport Harbor High football team said adios to CIF Southern Section Division VI in grand fashion last fall, capturing the school’s third CIF title.

The Sailors, who move to CIF Division I this season, were the only Newport Harbor boys’ team to capture a CIF championship during the 2005-06 school year. But it was not the only team to reach a high level of success.

The water polo and basketball squads also captured the imagination of their fans with their inspired play, and senior Bo Taylor of the track and field team was among the athletes who accomplished some amazing individual feats.

The CIF championship football team was led by senior Ryan Rippon, who was named the Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team’s Most Valuable Player after rushing for 1,681 yards and 13 touchdowns in 10 games.

Rippon was honored as the CIF Division VI Offensive Player of the Year. He also was named All-Southern Section (chosen from all 13 divisions), as a member of the second-team offense.

Rippon often ran through holes produced by senior offensive tackle Charles Schultz (6-foot-4, 332 pounds), who was a second-team All-Southern Section offensive lineman.

Jeff Brinkley was named CIF Division VI Coach of the Year.

Joining Rippon on the All-CIF Division VI team was Schultz, along with Billy Munce, Fernando Lara, Jarret Daniel, Nick Frazier and Mike Calabrese.

What makes Rippon’s numbers all the more impressive is that he missed the season’s first four games recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.

Nevertheless, he had eight games of 100-plus rushing yards, including a 300-yard output in the Sailors’ Division VI semifinal win over Tustin.

Rippon, the Sea View League Offensive Most Valuable Player, led the Sailors (11-3) to a Sea View League championship and a CIF crown, the team’s first since 1999.

Daniel, a junior receiver, had 32 catches for 587 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Munce was a powerful right guard, while Frazier, a junior middle linebacker, led the Tars in tackles with 118.

Lara, a senior cornerback, made four of his five interceptions in four playoff games and had 51 tackles.

Calabrese, a junior defensive end, had 47 tackles, including seven sacks.

The Sailors switch from the Sea View League to the Sunset League in 2006.

Senior quarterback Tom Jackson was named Newport-Mesa Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 1,505 yards and 22 touchdowns.

The Tars needed overtime to edge El Dorado, 32-31, in the first round, before upsetting No. 3-seeded Charter Oak in the quarterfinals and running over Tustin, 28-0, in the semifinals.

Newport Harbor rallied from a 14-7 halftime deficit to post a 28-21 victory over Valencia in the Dec. 10 title game before 7,500 at Orange Coast College, giving Brinkley a CIF championship in his 20th season at the helm. Along the way, Brinkley earned his 200th coaching victory.

Other Dream Team selections for the Sailors were Jackson, who threw three touchdowns and ran for another in the title game; Jack Tracy, who finished with 793 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 91 carries; James Coder, who made a game-clinching interception late in the CIF final, but sparkled most consistently on offense as a senior wide receiver, recording 40 receptions for 449 yards and three touchdowns; Daniel, the Sailors’ junior big-play threat who averaged 18.4 yards per catch; Munce, who missed time recovering from a broken bone in his arm, but was ready when the Sailors needed him down the stretch; Alex Flores, small for a guard, but successful by using his intelligence and desire; Frazier, who emerged as a force; David Rosales, a senior outside ‘backer who recorded 107 tackles; Calabrese, a consistent threat as a pass rusher; Delano McKenzie, a 5-9, 200-pound senior who forced his way into the starting lineup at noseguard and recorded seven sacks; and Lara, who had 51 tackles.

The back-to-back league titles for the Sailors were the first in Brinkley’s 20 seasons at Newport Harbor.

Water polo: It was as good a season as a team could have without bringing home a CIF championship.

When the Sailors last won a CIF title in 2000, they stopped Long Beach Wilson’s four-year reign. So it was almost fitting that when the Tars reached the CIF Division I title game last fall, there was Long Beach Wilson waiting for them, with four straight CIF title under its belt.

This time, Newport Harbor couldn’t quite snap the streak. In a fast-paced game with relentless action, Wilson pulled away in the third quarter and emerged with a 14-11 victory.

The teams traded leads five times in the first three quarters. Newport Harbor had leads of 7-5 and 9-8 before Wilson came back and took the lead for good.

The Sailors, who captured the Sea View League title, finished 25-6.

In the quarterfinals, Newport Harbor shrugged off a shaky start and rallied to defeat El Toro, 9-7, setting up an epic semifinal matchup against Back Bay rival Corona del Mar.

Newport Harbor star Clay Jorth scored a goal with 1:07 left in the second overtime period as the Tars escaped with a 13-12 overtime victory over the Sea Kings at Irvine High.

In a game that saw 65 shots, no team led by more than two.

Jorth, who signed with UCLA, was a first-team California-Hawaii All-American selection. Jorth also was the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year and a first-team All-CIF Division I pick.

Brett Auer, a Dream Team pick who signed with Pepperdine, led Newport Harbor with 72 goals and was a first-team All-CIF Division I selection.

Goalkeeper Bryce McClain also was a Dream Team honoree who averaged 9.2 saves per match. He was a second-team All-CIF pick.

Left-handed senior Telford Cottam was a first-team All-CIF selection, while senior Parker Gregory and junior Broc Hill were third-team All-CIF picks.

Track and field: The season was dominated by the exploits of Taylor. The UCLA-bound standout set a CIF state meet record in the discus with a mark of 213 feet, 7 inches in the preliminaries on June 2.

Taylor became the national champion in the discus June 16 in the Nike Outdoor Nationals at North Carolina A&T; University with a mark of 200-1.

Taylor won the discus title in the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a distance of 192 feet, 1 inch, to advance to the World Junior Championships that begin Tuesday in Beijing, China.

Taylor finished second in the shot put and discus at both the CIF state meet and the CIF Southern Section Division II finals.

He posted a personal best of 63-11 1/4 in the shot put at the state meet.

His discus mark in the state prelims was just four inches shy of the state record of 213-11.

Taylor also shattered the previous Sea View League mark of 178-6 in the discus with a throw of 202-0 at league finals.

Taylor also won the league title in the shot put (60-3).

Carson Hedrick won the league high jump title (6-0), and Chase Nelsen won the league crown in the 400 meters (52.31).

Also at league finals, senior Kenny Rakestraw won the 3,200 in 9:51.23 and was second in the 1,600 in 4:24.71.

He concluded his work by running the third leg of the 1,600 relay, helping a quartet that also consisted of Nick Nigro, Rex Nelson and Nelsen qualify for CIF with a third-place time of 3:33.

Basketball: Senior Dennis Heenan established himself early in the season as the main offensive threat and senior Robert Koon was the team’s defensive stopper from the outset.

The dynamic duo led the Sailors to a second-place finish in league and to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs, where they almost upset No. 4-seeded Ayala.

Heenan and Koon were first-team all-league performers.

Sophomore center Kyle Caldwell, who emerged as an inside presence late in the season, was a second-team all-league pick.

Heenan recorded a pair of 31-point games for the Sailors (21-7) and averaged 19 points per game for the season.

It was Heenan’s three-pointer that tied Ayala with 20 seconds left. But Ayala prevailed with last-second heroics of its own.

One of Koon’s shining moments came in the first round of the playoffs against El Dorado, when he held El Dorado star Jason Toney to seven points in Newport Harbor’s 32-31 win.

Heenan signed to play for Vanguard University after earning first-team all-league recognition and being named Newport-Mesa Player of the Year.

Cross country: Rakestraw also sparkled in the fall. He finished 24th at the CIF Southern Section Division II championships with a time of 16:14.

Earlier in the season, Rakestraw won the Division II senior race at the Laguna Hills Invitational — his first varsity triumph.

Rakestraw went on to finish first individually at the Orange County championships at Irvine Park with a personal-best mark of 15:21.

Volleyball: Coach Dan Glenn’s team briefly held the No. 1 ranking in CIF Southern Section Division I after winning the Orange County Championships with a title-match sweep of Edison.

The Sailors, who finished 23-10, came up short in their bid for a league title and had to settle for second place.

Worse yet, they were stunned in the CIF Division I playoffs, getting swept in the first round.

Junior Weston Dunlap shined in early season action. He was named MVP of the Orange County Championships.

First-team all-league selections were 5-10 senior libero Sean Grubbs, 6-4 University of the Pacific-bound setter Ted Slater, who also was a Dream Team honoree for the second consecutive season, and senior outside hitter Auer.

Caldwell and Dunlap were second-team all-league picks.

Swimming: The team captured the league championship for the second straight season.

The Tars scored 524 points to easily outpace second-place Irvine in the league finals.

Senior Dan Furman won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events and anchored the victorious 200 and 400 free relays.

Max Joseph finished second in the 200 individual medley and Cottam was second in the 50 free.

In the CIF Division I meet, Furman led the way by winning the consolation final in the 100 free (47.78).

Furman, along with Cottam, Clint Jorth and David Linden, won the consolation final in the 200 free relay (1:29.10).

Furman, the only Newport Harbor swimmer to reach a championship final (the top eight qualifiers), finished seventh in the 50 free (21.56).

Golf: Bryce Greely led the way to a 13th-place finish at the CIF South Coast Team Divisional at the El Prado Golf Course.

Greely carded a 73. He was followed by Justin Morehead (76), Spencer Quinn (82), Paul Neff (84) and Dalton Shane (85).

Greely was third at league finals to advance to the CIF Southern Section individual sectional.

Greeley shot a two-under-par 70 in the second round to finish at two-over 146, two shots behind medalist Mitch McCarthy of Laguna Hills.

Morehead shot 150 and finished sixth.

The Sailors, who had a 6-4 league record, also had a second-place showing in the Estancia Tournament.

Baseball: Coach Evan Chalmers took over a struggling program and helped bring it to respectability with a 13-12 record.

Although the Sailors were edged out in their bid for a CIF playoff berth, they won the Beach Pit Classic by beating Westlake, 7-4, in the championship game.

The Sailors scored six runs in the sixth inning to earn the win. Junior left-hander Drew Harris picked up the victory on the mound.

Harris, who emerged as the ace of the pitching staff, was the lone Sailor named first-team all-league by the circuit’s coaches.

Senior center fielder Skylar Cozad and junior third baseman P.J. Errington were second-team picks

Harris went 7-5 with a 1.96 ERA, helping the Sailors rebound from last year’s 8-17 record.

Cozad batted .315 with one home run and 11 RBIs and went two for three with an RBI in the win over Westlake.

Errington batted .321 with 11 RBIs and earned praise for his defense at third base.

Tennis: The Tars were ousted in the first round of the CIF Division I playoffs, 11-7, by Fountain Valley.

Darren Arnold swept his singles sets in the playoff match, but it wasn’t enough for the Sailors, who finished 9-6, 6-4 in league.

John Hutchinson and Arnold advanced to the doubles semifinals of the league tournament.

Soccer: A 1-0 triumph over Back Bay rival Corona del Mar was among the season highlights.

Hedrick, a 6-1 senior goalkeeper, made 10 saves against the Sea Kings, including several on shots inside the 18-yard box.

Hedrick called it the best game of his life.

Newport Harbor opened the season 5-3 but finished with just seven wins, going 2-7-1 against league foes to finish fifth.

Senior midfielder Trafford Hill and senior defender Preston Kelly were first-team All-Sea View performers.

Hill bounced back from an injury-plagued junior year to direct the midfield.

Junior twin midfielders Ruben and Will Trujillo were second-team all-league selections.

Lacrosse: The season was highlighted by an 8-4 victory over Woodbridge and an 8-5 win over Santa Margarita.

Against Woodbridge, the Sailors scored five consecutive goals to win the Orange County Lacrosse North Division showdown.

Against Santa Margarita, Donnie Hoover scored seven goals.

Trent Sladics, Ryan Hanrahan, Zach Gagnon, Eric Dobson, Ben Nesbit, Andrew Morris, Stuart Ashurst and Cole Barratto were among the big contributors for the Sailors.