Tars, Vaqs once again square off

Barry Faulkner

Perpetual trophies are typically reserved for games between

intracity rivals, but four of the last five football meetings between

Newport Harbor High and Irvine have featured championship stakes.

It’s too early to tell whether tonight’s 7 o’clock Sea View League

showdown at Irvine will decide the league crown. But the loser will

almost certainly forfeit hopes for Sea View supremacy with highly

regarded Foothill and Laguna Hills still lurking down the road for

both teams.

“It’s always an important game and it always means something,”

Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said of the clash with the

Vaqueros. “It’s going to be an important game for both of us in terms

of positioning ourselves to get into the playoffs.”

The Tars and Vaqs met for not only the league title, but the CIF

Southern Section Division VI crown in 1999 and 2000 (Newport won both

in ‘99, while Irvine swept the ’00 contests). The winner of this game

has gone on to capture the league crown each of the last three

seasons.

Newport (5-1, 1-0 in league), ranked No. 4 in CIF Division VI and

No. 10 in Orange County, secured a 24-0 victory last year as Irvine

finished last in the then-five-team circuit.

Irvine (4-2, 1-0), however, appears to be benefiting from the

experience gained by younger players last season. Coach Terry

Henigan’s squad thumped Woodbridge, 49-6, to open league last week

and features arguably the league’s most talented player in senior

running back Terrell Vinson.

“They always seem to come up with that one guy who is a handful

and is very tough to stop,” Brinkley said of Vinson, a returning

All-Sea View League performer who has scored nearly 59% of his team’s

143 points with 14 touchdowns.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Vinson has rushed for 936 yards and 13

TDs on 138 carries (an average of nearly 7 yards per attempt) and his

14 receptions lead the team. He has 127 receiving yards and one

touchdown and also is a dangerous kick returner. Additionally, Vinson

is a sure-handed tackler when he is allowed to contribute in the

secondary.

Defense could be the featured element of this game, as both teams

come in with impressive units.

Newport has allowed just 55 points, fourth-fewest in Orange

County, while Irvine (52 points allowed) ranks No. 3 in the county in

scoring defense, behind Mission Viejo (32) and Division XIII entry

Brethren Christian (48).

The Sailors run a basic four-three alignment that relies on the

linebackers to make the majority of the tackles, while Irvine’s 46

scheme channels waves of defenders to the ball.

It’s a scheme that has allowed Irvine to continually field one of

the county’s stingiest defenses, despite consistently lining up with

players of below-average size.

“They put eight guys in the box and they come after you from a lot

of different angles,” said Brinkley, who believes five games with

Irvine in the last three years have helped him learn how to attack

the 46, made famous by the 1985 Chicago Bears.

“We’ve improved over the years,” Brinkley, also the Sailors’

offensive coordinator, said.

The statistics back up Brinkley’s statements. In four meetings in

1999-2000, the Sailors averaged just 126 yards rushing and 74 yards

passing against the Vaqueros. Those games also included just 45

points for Harbor, which was victimized by 16 quarterback sacks.

Last year, however, the Sailors rushed for 213 yards and passed

for 119 more against the Vaqueros, who produced no sacks.

Newport is led offensively by senior tailback Dartangan Johnson

and senior quarterback Michael McDonald, who have combined to help

create extreme run-pass balance.

Johnson has 620 yards and 11 touchdowns on 99 rushing attempts

this fall. The 6-0, 195-pounder, who was all-league and the

Newport-Mesa Offensive Player of the Year last season, has 2,625

career rushing yards, leaving him just 76 shy of surpassing the

school record set by Steve Brazas in 1982-83. With his fourth

straight 100-plus rushing performance last week, Johnson is also tied

with the late Andre Stewart with the most career single-game outputs

of at least 100 yards (13).

McDonald has completed 58 of 105 passes for 885 yards and six TDs,

with just three interceptions.

Mike Toole and Spencer Link have been McDonald’s favorite targets.

Toole, a senior, has 20 catches for 341 yards and one TD, while Link,

a sophomore, has 14 catches for 300 yards and three TDs.

Irvine’s aerial attack is triggered by junior Dana Hills transfer

Luke Tracy, who has completed 31 of 53 for 425 yards and three TDs,

with two interceptions.

Junior receiver Mike Edwards has averaged nearly 38 yards on five

catches, two of which have resulted in long TDs.

Harbor has a five-game winning streak and has won eight straight

league games, since falling to Irvine, 19-14, in the 1999 league

opener. The Sailors, however, were home for all five of their

victories this season and have lost their last two road games.

The 18-game series, which also includes the 1992 section title

game won by Irvine, is tied, 9-9, and Newport has won five of the

last eight.