Monday Morning Quarterback:

Just when it was supposed to, everything clicked into place for Newport Harbor High.

The resulting 7-3 win pushed the Sailors into the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 playoffs in dramatic fashion, and now, Newport Harbor is staring squarely at a rematch with Long Beach Poly.

The absence of Notre Dame starting quarterback Dayne Crist was a factor, Coach Jeff Brinkley acknowledged, but he was more impressed with the performance of Sailors’ defense.

Crist suffered a concussion when he was tackled running ball against Crespi Nov. 9.

That left the Tars’ defensive line to contain Notre Dame running back Thaddeus Brown. Brown finished with only three double-digit gains Friday night, and just 88 yards on 18 carries. Two quarterback sacks by senior end Brandon Davis, and another by Dustin Campbell provided key stops when Newport Harbor needed them.

“We played really good defense across the board,” Brinkley said. “But our defensive line did an outstanding job.”

Dillian Freiberg’s punts pushed the Knights deep into their own territory. Five of Freiberg’s seven punts pinned the Knights inside their own 20-yard line.

“It was critical, backing them up,” Brinkley said. “They were probably a little more conservative with another quarterback in the game, and backing them up, that probably made them more so.”

Junior quarterback Andrew McDonald knew his check-downs. He kept the ball moving when the Sailors needed him to, allowing for his game-winning touchdown pass to JB Green with 5:09 left in the game.

Now the Sailors must figure out how to pull off a repeat performance in order to have a shot at beating Long Beach Poly. When the Jackrabbits defeated Newport Harbor 34-7 Sept. 14, it was because they ran the ball well, Brinkley said. Poly’s pass rushers didn’t make things any easier for McDonald, who was sacked eight times.

But having seen them once is still beneficial, according to Brinkley.

“It’s not going into an unknown situation for the players,” he said. “They know what they bring. From that aspect, it’s good, especially considering you’re going to play the No.1 team in CIF. I think it also helped us playing the team we played last week. Even though they were without their quarterback, they have five or six other Division-I [college] players on that team.”

This time, the defensive line won’t have just one back to stop. They’ll have to focus on shutting down Ricky Johnson, Cory Westbrook, and Melvin Richardson.

ESTANCIA (5-6):

A 24-6 loss to Irvine finally gave first-year head coach Mike Bargas a chance to catch his breath, but the Estancia coach is already looking ahead to next season.

“We’re going to start improving the program all the way from what we’re doing, to the schedule, to the facilities,” Bargas said, referring to Estancia’s new stadium, which should be completed in time for the 2008 graduation ceremony.

The Eagles will start off-season football right after Christmas break knowing that when practice starts again, they’ll be taking orders from the same head coach, instead of anticipating a regime change.

Bargas was grateful that players — particularly the team’s 18 seniors — were receptive after losing coach Brian Barnes, who left to coach at Tesoro.

“That was the probably the greatest thing,” Bargas said. “They accepted things whole-heartedly. You anticipate that there’s going to be some resistance because they’re used to doing things a certain way. I know it happens a lot with a lot of new coaching changes.”

Despite sustaining a few bumps after losing senior starting quarterback Mike Morley before South Coast League play began, Bargas and the Eagles were able to rebound, finishing the regular season with a share of the league title. Senior running back Carlos Mendez set the single-season rushing record with 1,530 yards, surpassing Marshall Hendricks’ 1,477 yards during the Irvine game.

“They laid the foundation for a strong and positive tradition at that school,” Bargas said. “Now we’re able to build on some things. Next year, we don’t just plan on going to the playoffs, we plan on winning in the playoffs too.”

SAGE HILL (8-3):

The series between Sage Hill and Linfield Christian may be level at 2-2, but the Lions could always argue that they got the better half.

Linfield Christian’s 62-32 win over Sage Hill marked the second time the team has beaten Lightning in the CIF playoffs, keeping Sage Hill right where it was three years ago after the first round: At home.

The Lightning escaped with a 36-35 win in Temecula during the regular season, but couldn’t repeat the same success Friday at home, where Lions running back Daniel Musquiz rushed for 339 yards and five touchdowns on 40 carries. The loss marked the end of Pete Anderson’s inaugural year as head coach, and also closed a chapter for senior quarterback Jamie McGee, who set school records for passing yards and touchdowns with astronomical numbers. McGee passed for 8,134 yards and 87 touchdowns as a four-year starter for the Lightning.

COSTA MESA (3-8):

Now looking back on his second year as Costa Mesa’s head coach, Jeremy Osso is still waiting to see when the road gets smoother.

Dealing with players who quit or were suspended while trying to staunch an 0-7 slide to open the season were just a couple of the problems Osso had solve.

Injuries forced the coach to start sophomore Brian Waldron at quarterback, and the Mustangs were also forced to adjust when their starting running back, Antwon Byrd, missed most of the preseason because of injuries as well.

Costa Mesa finished with three shutout losses. A fourth to Rancho Alamitos was voided after the Vaqueros had to forfeit the win.

Still, Mesa won two of its four South Coast league games to win a share of the league title and advance to the Southern Division playoffs, where it lost to Pacifica 34-0, in the first round. It was the Mustangs’ first playoff appearance in five years.

Next year, Mesa will face Godinez, a newcomer to the South Coast League.

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