No naps against winless Dolphins

So far, it seems Dana Hills High might be the school that best embodies the definition of a “sleeper.”

With an 0-4 start to the season, the Dolphins haven’t recorded a win since Nov. 9, 2006, when they beat Capistrano Valley 28-13. Dana Hills finished 3-2 in the South Coast league.

But all losses are not created equal.

Dana Hills took a 28-7 season-opening dive at the hands of Orange Lutheran, ranked second in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division this week behind Mater Dei.

The Dolphins also lost, 10-0, to El Dorado, ranked first in the CIF Southwest Division.

Newport Harbor (2-1) plays at Dana Hills tonight at 7:30.

“We’ll never take anybody for granted,” Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said. “They’ve probably got the toughest schedule in Orange County. Orange Lutheran, El Dorado, Los Alamitos, Loyola, they’ve played a bunch of good football teams.”

So Newport Harbor isn’t taking the team lightly, especially since the Sailors have lost to Dana Hills for the past two years. It’s why the coaches told the team the Sailors are underdogs in this game.

“They may be 0-4, but they’re a good football team,” said Michael Helfrich, who is starting at tailback and free safety this week. “They’ve played, I think every [Pac-5] Division team, so far, so you can’t overlook them because they’re 0-4. It’s going to be a difficult game.”

Dana Hills runs a spread offense, and likes to pass, and Brinkley is hoping last week’s 41-7 performance against Corona del Mar ignited a permanent flame for the defensive backs. Danny Miller and JB Green combined for five interceptions last week, and returned three of them for touchdowns.

“They’ve got a quarterback that started for them last year,” Brinkley said. “He can run back there and make things happen, even when he’s flushed out of the pocket. Defensively, they’ve got eight guys returning off a defense we felt was very good last year, and gave us some problems.”

Starting tailback Ben Frazier (41 carries for 189 yards and two TDs) is out for one, possibly two games due to a small medial collateral ligament tear. Frazier injured his left knee during the first quarter of the Battle of the Bay. He may return to play against Mira Costa (Oct. 5) or Fountain Valley (Oct. 12).

Helfrich will start at the position instead, and will now be one of six starters playing on both offense and defense, something Brinkley was hoping to minimize, hand-in-hand with injuries.

Helfrich, a junior, has rushed for 76 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries for the season.

“It makes a big difference because now I’m playing both sides,” Helfrich said. “It’s going to be a lot harder, but last year, Ben got hurt again, and I was put in for him for the last four games, but I was just playing on offense. So I’m used to playing running back.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.