Whiteside leads Tars honorees

Senior Cecil Whiteside is one of eight Newport Harbor High football players receiving first-team All-Sunset League accolades after helping the Sailors to a share of second place in league.

Joining the UC Berkeley-bound Whiteside on the first team were senior offensive tackle Jake Taylor, senior kicker Dillan Freiberg, junior running back Cedric Whitaker, junior cornerback/wide receiver Parker Norton, senior linebacker Ryan Iverson, senior cornerback Gabe Gomez and senior offensive guard Brandon Coffey.

Taylor split the Offensive Lineman of the Year honor with Los Alamitos’ Niu Sale and Edison’s Roman Sapulo.

Freiberg shared the Kicker of the Year award with Edison’s Marcus Trujillo.

The eight first-team picks played an instrumental role in the Sailors (6-5, 3-2 in league) returning to the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs after missing the postseason in 2008.

Whiteside, the Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year, made first team for the third straight year.

The 6-foot-3, 222-pound Whiteside led Newport Harbor with 96 total tackles, five going for losses, finished with one interception.

As a wide receiver, Whiteside finished with 29 catches for 377 yards and four touchdowns.

Freiberg holds Orange County’s second longest streak for extra-point kicks at 71. He made 11 of 12 field goals. The longest was from 49 yards.

Freiberg averaged 41.3 yards per punt and pinned the opposition inside its own 20-yard line 16 times.

Whitaker, the Dream Team Offensive Player of the Year, rushed for 1,003 yards and totaled 12 touchdowns.

Eight of Whitaker’s touchdowns came on the ground, two via the air, one on special teams and another one on defense.

Norton, the Dream Team Defensive Player of the Year, intercepted five passes. He was tied for second most interceptions in the county. Norton made 45 tackles, two for losses, and averaged 15.1 yards per punt return.

On offense, Norton led the Sailors with 37 catches and four touchdowns. He finished with close to 300 yards.

Iverson totaled 76 tackles, recovered three fumbles and sacked the quarterback once.

Gomez finished with 47 tackles and recovered one fumble.

Making the second team for Newport Harbor were junior quarterback Austin Rios, senior defensive lineman Zack Moghaddam, junior defensive lineman JB Salem, junior linebacker Ryan Andrews, sophomore linebacker Steve Michaelsen and junior offensive lineman Dillon Gillette.

Edison quarterback Matt Viles earned the league’s MVP honor.

— From staff reports