Two-Minute Drill: Bo St. Geme has CdM career record for receiving yards

It was a night to remember for senior receiver Bo St. Geme as Corona del Mar (10-1) defeated Tustin, 17-7, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs Friday night at Davidson Field.

St. Geme had nine catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. He stepped up in the second half as fellow senior receiver Cole Collins was out of the game with a deep thigh bruise, making seven catches for 93 yards after halftime.

St. Geme has now set the CdM career record for receiving yards, with 2,040. The former record was 2,038 yards, set by Kevin Welch from 2002-04.

St. Geme has thrived in Coach Scott Meyer’s offense. He already owns the CdM career mark for receptions, now 147 and counting. That equates to 13.8 yards per reception over his career.

Welch remains the CdM career receiving touchdowns leader, with 23. St. Geme currently has 17.

— Matt Szabo

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•Newport Harbor High Coach Jeff Brinkley said he plans to return to Newport Harbor for his 30th season.

“I’m still feeling good,” said the 62-year-old Brinkley, who led the Sailors led to 5-6 overall and 3-2 in the Sunset League, good for third place. “We had some exciting moments where [my players] battled their [tails] off [to hold on and beat Huntington Beach, 52-48, by intercepting a pass in the end zone with no time left on the clock in the league opener, and then rallying to beat Fountain Valley, 34-33, by rushing for a one-yard touchdown on the final play in the league finale to clinch a playoff berth].

“For us to get into the playoffs [for the 23rd time in my 29 years is an achievement]. Somehow they managed to do it and they dealt really with a lot of adversity. We’ve never had a year with this many injuries. We went through a lot of offensive linemen, even [against Tesoro] we ended up with, you know, Arthur Guillen, a little 5-7, 180-pound guard playing because [left tackle Joey] Stukonis went down with his ankle [in the first half].”

Brinkley’s record in playoff openers is now 16-7. He has a 233-111-3 overall record with the Sailors, including eight section finals appearances, three resulting in titles.

If Brinkley returns next year, it will mark his 38th season in charge of a high school football program. He coached for eight years at two schools in Norwalk.

For Brinkley’s career, he is 262-158-7, making him one of 22 coaches in California to have compiled 260 wins.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

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•Estancia High Coach Mike Bargas was extremely proud of Zach Bateman, a former Eagles offensive lineman, who committed on Sunday to play football at UCLA.

Bateman was last at Orange Coast College before announcing his commitment. He left the Pirates team after the fourth game because his academic load included 23 units and that prompted him to stop playing for OCC.

Yet, he still earned the scholarship at UCLA, even after battling through what he referred to as family issues.

“It’s great,” Bargas said of Bateman landing at UCLA. “I thought it was a bit bizarre that he went out the way he did at OCC. But that’s how it happened. What a feather in our cap as a player from Estancia to go on to UCLA. For him to persevere the way he did is great. As a head coach I am really proud of him. Hopefully he toughs it out at UCLA. I think he can hang, especially after what he’s been through these past few years.”

— Steve Virgen

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•On the first seven plays from scrimmage in the first round of the CIF Southern Section West Valley Division playoffs, everything seemed to go right for Newport Harbor. The Sailors came out with a balanced offensive attack at Tesoro, rushing four times for 32 yards and passing three times for 20 yards.

By the time they reached the opponent’s 30-yard line, moving the chains for the fourth time, the drive stalled. This is when everything began to go in the opposite direction for the Sailors.

A high snap forced quarterback Cole Norris to lose a yard, and then on the next play he was sacked for an eight-yard loss. Norris’ third-down pass was tipped and it fell incomplete.

The Sailors only got one more first down in the first quarter, and when the quarter ended, they trailed by three touchdowns. Fourth-seeded Tesoro sped up the tempo, running away with a 52-14 win to qualify for the quarterfinals to play Vista Murrieta next week.

The 52 points are the most a Newport Harbor team has allowed in 23 playoff appearances under Coach Jeff Brinkley. Tesoro (9-2) scored all of those 52 points in the first half against last year’s runner-up finisher from the Southwest Division.

“We needed something good to happen early to have a chance, and it didn’t happen,” said Brinkley, whose team matched the program’s worst playoff loss under his watch.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

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•Norris leaves Newport Harbor as its all-time leader in yards and touchdowns through the air.

Norris passed for 6,955 yards and 73 touchdowns during his three-year career. His passing yards rank No. 8 in Orange County history and his touchdowns No. 7.

As a senior, the Northern Arizona-bound signal caller completed 188 of 299 passes for 2,533 yards and 30 touchdowns, with seven interceptions. The touchdowns is a Newport Harbor single-season record.

During his career, Norris completed 524 of 866 passes, a 60.5% completion ratio. He only threw 21 interceptions.

Norris ranks No. 1 at Newport Harbor in single-game touchdown passes (six), single-game passing yards (474) and single-game attempts (63). He is tied for first in single-game completions (36).

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

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•Senior cornerback Brett Greenlee was another impressive performer for the top-seeded Sea Kings, who face Trabuco Hills on the road in a Southwest Division quarterfinal Friday at 7 p.m.

Greenlee essentially iced the game with his interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter against Tustin. He also blocked a field goal late in the first quarter, preserving what was at the time a scoreless tie.

Greenlee isn’t a stranger to getting into the end zone. Last year in a Pacific Coast League game against University, he had a key blocked field goal return for a touchdown late in the first half. CdM pulled away for a 35-3 win.

For the season, Greenlee has a team-best three interceptions and has also blocked three field goals. He has committed to Denver University for lacrosse.

“He’s one of our better athletes,” CdM Coach Scott Meyer said. “When he gets the ball in his hands, he can do something with it.”

— Matt Szabo

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•Estancia senior team captain Ronnie Urquiza did not get to play his final game (a 13-9 loss to Santiago) with his teammates in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs.

Urquiza suffered a concussion in the regular-season finale, when the Eagles captured the Orange Coast League title with a 44-13 win against Saddleback. Estancia’s seven-game streak ended against Santiago.

Urquiza was not cleared to play.

“I think he feels unfulfilled and unsatisfied that he went out that way,” Bargas said of Urquiza. “I think he has more football left in him. I would think he’ll play again after high school.”

Bargas said that a few NCAA Division III programs might be interested in Urquiza and that he also has junior college ball as an option.

— Steve Virgen