Loyola tough sans Barr

Scheduled to stop at Newport Harbor High tonight at 7 was a train.

The Sailors don’t have to worry about a 6-foot-4, 230-pound running back from Loyola of Los Angeles in their home opener.

Anthony Barr broke his ankle last week and won’t be available when the Sailors (1-0) play host to the Cubs (1-1), ranked No. 10 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll.

Not having to face one of the highly recruited seniors in the country on the football field is a plus for Newport Harbor. With or without Barr, Coach Jeff Brinkley said the game plan for the Sailors is the same.

“We’re not going to change,” said Brinkley, who is three victories shy of his 200th career win at the school. “They’re not going to change.

“They’ve got another guy who is very capable and who will be tough.”

Expected to start in the backfield for Loyola is Jared Baker. At 5-9 and 181 pounds, the junior isn’t a bruiser like Barr with the ball. Baker does possess breakaway speed.

Baker scored on a 64-yard run in the Cubs’ season-opening win against Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach. Baker rushed nine times for 111 yards against a team with many starters returning from the 2008 squad that advanced to the CIF Western Division championship game.

Stopping the run is always the key to the game. The Sailors are notorious for slowing down the opponent’s ground game.

Forcing quarterback Jerry Neuheisel, the son of UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel, to throw will bolster Newport Harbor’s chances of starting the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2006 season.

“I thought Neuheisel threw the ball better [during a 26-7 loss at Mission Viejo] than he did the first week,” Brinkley said of Neuheisel, who finished 13 of 19 for 152 yards last week.

In their season opener last week, the Sailors held host Aliso Niguel to 72 yards on 27 carries and won, 45-7. Things won’t be as easy for the defense.

The Sailors aren’t facing a team like Aliso Niguel, which last won a game in 2007. Newport Harbor forced three turnovers, including a fumble returned 72 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Cedric Whitaker.

Whitaker also stood out on offense.

The junior transfer from the Bay Area outgained starters Gabe Gomez and Drew Diller by himself. Whitaker finished with 59 yards and Gomez and Diller combined for 43 yards.

Don’t be surprised if the speedy Whitaker triples the four carries he received last week.

Another player to watch is Cecil Whiteside, a senior wide receiver and inside linebacker. Before the season, Brinkley said the standout headed to UC Berkeley would touch the ball more often.

Whiteside caught the ball four times for 99 yards and a touchdown in the opener, but the Sailors never gave him the ball in the backfield.

If Whiteside gets some carries, he’s big enough at 6-3 and 222 pounds to pass for a train.