DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

The night before Newport Harbor High’s big football game Thursday, JB Green spent it in a Jacuzzi with teammates.

Six seniors hung out and talked about the future while at Michael Helfrich’s house.

Green wanted his final season with the Sailors to continue. They all did.

It looks like it might for Newport Harbor.

The Sailors upset Los Alamitos, 24-23, in a must-win Sunset League game at Gahr High in Cerritos.

Newport Harbor (7-3, 3-2 in league) now waits to see if it receives one of the league’s three automatic CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoff berths.

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Green played a major role in the Sailors’ success. There’s a reason Coach Jeff Brinkley calls Green “the big play guy.”

Throughout the season Green delivered. He wears the No. 6 jersey for a reason.

Not because it represent the number of points for a touchdown. He has found the end zone practically every which way possible.

Heading into Thursday’s game, he had scored on a 77-yard kickoff return, a 51-yard punt return, a 10-yard fumble return, two runs, and seven catches.

In all, 11 touchdowns before facing Los Alamitos, the No. 5-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll.

But why does he wear No. 6?

“To pay respect to my brother,” Green said of Brett Green, who wore No. 6 as a senior on Newport Harbor’s Division VI section championship team in 2005.

Green said his older brother concentrated on playing safety. Green has been asked to do it all for the Sailors.

He rarely misses any action during a game. He starts at wide receiver, cornerback, and on special teams, where he returns kickoffs and punts.

As for what Green enjoys the most, hands down it is catching the ball.

Green has the quarterback to get him the ball. Andrew McDonald’s favorite target since the fifth game of the season has been Green.

In the Jacuzzi, the two looked back on some of the impressive connections and those recent back-to-back league blowout victories over Marina and Esperanza.

“He makes me look good,” McDonald said of Green, who said he’s getting looks from Stanford and a couple of Ivy League schools.

McDonald elevated his game at the right time before league play.

Since beating Mira Costa, 42-14, in a nonleague road game on Oct. 10, McDonald and Green have connected 32 times for 483 yards and five touchdowns.

Through nine games, Green led all Newport Harbor receivers with 45 catches for 657 yards and seven touchdowns.

McDonald has several options. There’s receiver Cecil Whiteside, Helfrich and Danny Miller at running back, tight end Ned Lyon, and Green said the passing game’s success is a credit to McDonald’s ability to spread the ball around.

“His arm has gotten a lot stronger,” Green said of McDonald, who went into Thursday’s game completing more than 60% of his passes for 1,371 yards and 14 touchdowns, with only five interceptions. “We’ve just been throwing so many routes together that it’s translated onto the field.

“It’s awesome that he can throw the ball to me.”

Green hopes it doesn’t end.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.