High School Football

Newport Harbor vs. Esperanza

When/where: Tonight at 7, at Valencia High

Key Sailors: Jr. TB Cedric Whitaker (916 rushing yards, 12 total TDs); Sr. WR-LB Cecil Whiteside (23 receptions), Sr. WR-CB Parker Norton (30 receptions).

Breakdown: After Los Alamitos beat Fountain Valley Thursday, the Sailors (5-4, 2-2 in league) will need to defeat Esperanza (4-5, 1-3), to move into a three-way tie for second place with Fountain Valley and Los Al. Since the three teams are all 1-1 against each other, a coin flip would decide the league’s Nos. 2 and 3 playoff representatives in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs ... A Newport Harbor loss would mean the Sailors would be denied an automatic playoff berth and scenarios indicate getting the division’s lone at-large berth is highly unlikely ... The Tars are coming off a dominant 49-0 win over Marina that snapped a two-game losing streak ... Esperanza, which beat Marina, 52-27, on Oct. 29, comes off a 21-19 loss to arch-rival Los Al last week ... Newport Harbor beat Los Al, 23-20, on Oct. 16 ... Esperanza beat Mira Costa, 21-20, while the Tars lost to the Mustangs, 24-10, in nonleague play.

— Barry Faulkner

Costa Mesa vs. Laguna Beach

When/where: Tonight, 7 at Laguna Beach High

Key Mustangs: Jr. LT Andrew Albers; Sr. Todd Davis (Passed for 1,358 yards and 12 TDs and two INTs, completing 101 of 183 attempts); Sr. WR-LB Brian Waldron (39 catches for 593 yards and four TDs)

Breakdown: For the second straight year, the outright Orange Coast League championship will be decided in the regular-season finale between Costa Mesa (6-3, 3-0 in league) and Laguna Beach (4-5, 3-0) … The Mustangs, ranked No. 7 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, are looking to make history with their third straight league title … Costa Mesa stormed back from a 22-point first-quarter deficit last year to beat visiting Laguna Beach, 38-30, in the league championship showdown … The Mustangs have won eight straight league games dating back to the 2007 season, when Costa Mesa shared the league title.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza