Edison quarterback puts charge into Sailors

HUNTINGTON BEACH — The infectious dose of humility that has been circulating among the proud football programs of the Sunset League, found its way to the Newport Harbor High sideline Friday night.

The Sailors, who may have instigated the outbreak by opening their first Sunset League season since 1980 with a 21-13 upset of Esperanza on Oct. 13, found themselves feeling less than their best in a 37-6 trouncing at the hands of Edison at Huntington Beach High.

Ironically, it was Edison that picked up the malady the week before from an Esperanza team that blanked the Chargers, 38-0.

“We don’t often get embarrassed, but we were embarrassed last week,” Edison Coach Dave White said after handling Newport Harbor with surprising ease. “And we were beat up, too.”

But the Chargers consistently found the cure for whatever had ailed them, simply by placing the ball in the right hand of strong-armed junior quarterback Nick Crissman.

Crissman, taking advantage of a Newport secondary that at times included two sophomore safeties, a sophomore nickel back, a freshman outside linebacker and a sophomore outside ‘backer, completed 19 of 26 (73.1%), for a career-high 381 yards and four touchdowns.

Crissman, who was 14 of 16 after halftime, had touchdown passes of three, 43, 35 and 82 yards to help the Chargers solidify themselves in the upper echelon of the league standings.

Edison, ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division, improved to 6-2, 2-1 in league. The Chargers remain one game behind Los Alamitos in second place.

Esperanza and Fountain Valley, both 1-1 in league, meet tonight at Valencia High.

Newport Harbor dropped to 4-4, 1-2, and now faces an uphill battle to make the CIF playoffs. The Sailors must beat Marina [on Friday] and Fountain Valley [Nov. 10], then hope for some help to earn one of the league’s three guaranteed playoff berths. An at-large berth is unlikely, even with two more wins.

Brinkley, however, was more concerned with what had just happened Friday, than what lay ahead.

“[The Chargers] beat us in every aspect of football,” Brinkley said. “In coaching, offense, defense, and special teams.”

There were few highlights for the Tars, who managed just three first downs, 87 yards of total offense, and punted seven times. An eighth punt attempt turned into a safety when the high snap sailed out of the end zone midway through the third quarter.

Newport was in the game through the first quarter. The Sailors answered a 12-play, 72-yard Edison touchdown drive with a quick four-play scoring march that began when a shanked Edison punt set the visitors up at their own 47-yard line.

On the second play, quarterback Kevin Williams flipped to Jarrett Daniel in the flat and Daniel slashed past one would-be tackler and sprinted 38 yards to the Chargers’ eight-yard line.

Michael Helfrich then fought his way to the one and powered over from the right side on the next play to give the Sailors’ roosters something to cheer about.

But the snap on the conversion kick attempt sailed over the kicker’s head and the subsequent scramble pass attempt fell incomplete to allow Edison to keep its 7-6 lead.

After Newport Harbor abandoned a nickel defense — a three-man front and an extra defensive back at linebacker — Edison found even more open space in the Sailors’ secondary to exploit.

The Chargers went 58 yards on four plays, all completed passes, to up their lead to 14-6, with Hunter White fielding a perfectly-placed Crissman toss for a 43-yard touchdown on a post pattern with 6:55 left in the first half.

Crissman, who was sacked twice early, but found increasing amounts of time to pick out receivers thereafter, had five completions on the Chargers’ nine-play, 84-yard scoring march near the end of the second quarter.

Crissman hit Jacob Slaton on a post for a 35-yard score that enabled the Chargers to take a 21-6 halftime advantage.

Newport Harbor produced two of its first downs in the third quarter, but Edison had touchdown drives of two and three plays, the latter ending on an 82-yard TD toss from Crissman to Dominique Vinson on yet another post pattern.

“I was worried coming in,” Dave White said. “But we were good with the pass and we added some run. We made big plays.”

White also praised his defense.

“We needed this one badly,” he said. “If we want to be league champions, we need to keep winning. I thought we showed a lot of character tonight.”

Daniel had three receptions for 48 yards to lead the Newport Harbor offense, while Bryce Jardine and Cecil Whiteside each had a sack to spearhead the defense.

Hunter White finished with seven catches for 171 yards. He also rushed twice for 11 yards.

Vinson had four catches for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Edison tailback Devon Bahrami had five receptions for 34 yards to go with his 27 yards rushing.

The Newport Harbor defense, which had allowed just five touchdowns in the first seven games, held the Chargers to 68 rushing yards on 27 attempts.