Two-minute drill

The Corona del Mar High football team averted an 0-2 start in the Pacific Coast League with a 14-13 victory over Irvine Friday night at Newport Harbor High.

Irvine decided to go for a two-point conversion and the lead midway through the fourth quarter.

But the intended receiver fell down and the Sea Kings held on to win.

CdM (6-2, 1-1 in league) ended a six-game winning streak by the Vaqueros (6-2, 1-1).

“Knowing Coach [Terry] Henigan, it doesn’t surprise me,” CdM first-year coach Jason Hitchens said of Irvine’s decision against a game-tying conversion kick. “He comes to win a football game.

“Our league doesn’t play overtime. Coach Henigan just felt that the tie wasn’t going to do much for him.”

• CdM quarterback Mitch Sands made the most of a broken play.

It turned out to be the game-winner.

The senior’s three-yard touchdown pass to running back Alex Swigert gave the Sea Kings a 14-7 lead with 1:15 left in the third quarter.

The play began correctly, as Sands faked the handoff to Swigert. What happened next wasn’t planned.

“He was supposed to go to the right side and he accidentally rolled to the left,” Swigert said. “I saw the defender that I was blocking come off me and I looked back and I saw Mitch rolling out, so I released.”

A second later, Sands threw Swigert the ball in the end zone.

• Costa Mesa senior cornerback Manny Gomez had two interceptions in the Mustangs’ 27-14 Orange Coast League win over Godinez Thursday at Segerstrom High.

And Gomez just missed collecting two other picks, including one late in the game on which he likely would have sprinted untouched for a touchdown.

Asked if he would remember the two interceptions or the final opportunity that got away, Gomez smiled, then paused, then said: “The picks felt great. I should have had a third one, but the picks felt great.”

• Newport Harbor had its chances to beat Fountain Valley for the third straight year since joining the Sunset League in 2006.

With the Sailors ahead, 21-16, linebacker Brandon Kula made an exceptional interception with 6:21 left in the game.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior leaped to pick off quarterback Dominic Ragland’s pass headed to a receiver over the middle.

Newport Harbor (4-3, 0-2 in league) gained one first down and it appeared the offense might be able to run the clock out. But on third-and-10 on the Barons’ 40, the Sailors were flagged five yards for delay of game.

Michael Helfrich gained 10 yards on third-and-15. He finished with 120 yards rushing.

The Sailors decided not to go for it, but rather run off as much time as possible before getting another delay of game penalty.

With 2:09 remaining, Newport Harbor punted. Junior Dillan Freiberg pinned Fountain Valley (5-2, 1-1) on its own 13.

The Sailors did a solid job on the first four plays containing Fountain Valley, which was forced to burn its final two timeouts.

But Ragland converted on fourth-and-three by hitting tight end Nyko Gonzales for 10 yards and a first down.

Ragland found Gonzales again. This time for nine yards, putting the Barons near midfield.

On the next play, Newport Harbor, expecting the pass, was caught off guard.

Running back Kyle Middlebrooks ran a draw and turned on the burners for a 52-yard touchdown, giving Fountain Valley a 22-21 lead with 30 seconds left.

It wasn’t quite over.

Newport Harbor took over on its own 32 with 23 seconds left.

Quarterback Andrew McDonald quickly completed back-to-back passes. The first was a 10-yarder to wide receiver Cecil Whiteside after a five-yard penalty on Fountain Valley advanced the Sailors to the 37.

McDonald’s second completion was huge, a 25-yarder to receiver JB Green. He put Newport Harbor on the Barons’ 28 with two seconds left.

Newport Harbor called a timeout to set up a 44-yard field-goal attempt that came up short as time expired. The Sailors’ longest field goal this season is 36 yards.

• Costa Mesa Coach Jeremy Osso said his players did not prepare as zealously as they should have for 1-6 Godinez, which was in the game until the final moments.

“I talked to them about what happened to USC at Oregon State,” Osso said of the Trojans’ lone loss this season to the heavy underdog Beavers. “But kids, being kids, they don’t always listen.”

Senior Robbie Gemayel, who rushed for 151 yards on seven carries at wingback, agreed only somewhat with his coach’s assessment.

“It was kind of tough to [not take Godinez lightly], but, at the same time, we want the league championship so bad, we needed to come out and play hard,” Gemayel said.

Gomez said he had no trouble getting primed to play the Grizzlies.

“It wasn’t rough at all,” Gomez said. “[The Grizzlies] came with their A game and I respect that. But we brought it in the second half.”

• Sage Hill’s 38-0 nonleague loss to visiting Linfield Christian Friday was the third meeting between the two teams in a little more than a year.

Last season, Sage rallied to edge the Lions 36-36, in their regular-season meeting, but fell, 62-32, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs.

• Sage Hill sophomore quarterback Randall Mycorn, who did not start because of a balky right shoulder, was twice driven to the turf with the shoulder appearing to take the brunt of the impact. The first time, he was helped off the field, but later returned. The second time, he did not return and had his right arm in a sling after the game.

• Newport Harbor’s defense allowed Middlebrooks to rush for 221 yards, the most the Sailors have given up to any running back this season.

Three teams have rushed more than 100 yards against Newport Harbor. Each time the Sailors lost. Those losses were to Long Beach Poly, ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll, No. 5 Edison, and now Fountain Valley.

Next for Newport Harbor is a home game Thursday against Esperanza (6-1, 2-0 in league), which escaped last week with a 17-14 league victory over Marina.

• Corona del Mar plays University (4-3, 0-1) at Irvine High Friday.

The Trojans, who shared the league title last season, opened league on Oct. 23 against defending league co-champion Laguna Hills and suffered the same fate as CdM, losing big, 42-14.

CdM, ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, faces a Uni team that has lost three straight.

— From staff reports