Sailors’ win a study in perseverance

Rick Devereux

No coach wants injuries, but the early ailments that plagued Newport

Harbor High may have helped Coach Jeff Brinkley’s football squad

focus on the task at hand and forge a 21-17 come-from-behind victory

over Corona del Mar Thursday in the Battle of the Bay.

“The fact that we have had to deal with some adversity,” Brinkley

said regarding the key to the win. “[Quarterback] Kasey [Peters]

showed his ability as a leader to make big plays down in the crunch

for us when he hit three [passes] in a row [on the game-winning

drive].”

The Sailors (3-0) have had to perform with their backs against the

wall all season with projected starting tailback Ryan Rippon out with

ligament damage to his knee, starting linebacker and wide receiver

Taylor Young playing a limited role due to an injured ankle, All-Sea

View League linebacker Thomas Martin out the first two games with a

stomach ailment and Newport-Mesa Player of the Year Spencer Link

sidelined the first two games because of a sore shoulder.

Martin and Link were factors in the win against the Sea Kings,

with Martin recovering a fumble to halt a Corona drive deep into

Newport territory late in the third quarter. Martin also caught a

two-point conversion pass following Link’s 63-yard punt return for a

touchdown. Link also caught the 47-yard game-winning pass with 1:07

remaining.

“To be able to come away with a win is a sign that we are

competitors,” Brinkley said.

The injuries in the opening weeks not only gave Newport Harbor the

resiliency to battle back, it also allowed backups to gain valuable

experience.

With Rippon out, fullback Trevor Theriot and sophomore Jasen Ruiz

were called upon to handle the running game. And with Martin out,

Theriot moved to inside linebacker. The absence of Young and Theriot

at outside linebacker gave Greg Miner and Billy Brown an opportunity

to step up on defense.

In the Corona del Mar game, Theriot injured his left arm. It has

been diagnosed as a dislocated elbow, which means he should be able

to return to action shortly. But it also means Brown and Ruiz will be

able to build upon the playing time they have seen so far.

“That’s why you coach them all,” Brinkley said. “This is just one

of those years where we have to juggle things around.”

Brinkley said it was truly a team effort, with the offense,

defense and special teams contributing to the win.

“I think we played defense extremely well,” he said. “I think they

maybe get three points if we don’t turn the ball over. They have a

quarterback that can run, a wide receiver that can catch and running

backs that can run. To limit them is a really good sign. Offensively,

when we had to make some plays, we made the plays.”

Newport Harbor, No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division VI, will

host Dana Hills (3-0) Thursday.

* CORONA DEL MAR: Coach Dick Freeman was generally pleased with

way the Sea Kings played against Newport Harbor Thursday, despite the

heart-breaking loss.

“The positive was, if we keep the big play from happening, we have

a good chance of winning,” he said. “They had a big kickoff return

[that set up a touchdown] and the punt return [for a touchdown by

Link]. We let down a couple times. They had one punt return and one

drive, and that was about it.”

Freeman said he was happy with the defense, especially considering

starting defensive end Carlos Corrales did not play because of a leg

injury.

“I thought we did better on pass defense,” he said. “We were able

to put some pressure on [Peters] and got to the quarterback a couple

times. I thought our zone [schemes] did well. Their passing wasn’t

too consistent (a 51.7% completion rate).”

The CdM offense implemented new formations against Newport Harbor,

namely an empty backfield with four wide receivers stacked on one

side. Freeman said that formation was designed specifically to combat

the Tars’ four-three defense.

“Against Newport you’ve got to try to get their linebackers to

move out,” Freeman said.

Out of that stacked-four formation, the Sea Kings completed two

quick screens to running back Wess Presson.

Freeman said before the contest that running against Newport

Harbor would be a “tough chore” and that it “could get ugly.” Heading

into the game, Corona was averaging 341 rushing yards per game and

8.2 yards per carry. Against Newport, the Sea Kings managed 91

rushing yards and 2.6 per carry. Still, Freeman was happy with the

way the offensive line played.

“I think our O-line learned a lot on what it takes to run against

a team like Newport,” Freeman said.

The Sea Kings, No. 4 in CIF Division IX, hope to get back on the

winning track when they play Valencia (3-0) Saturday at Newport

Harbor.

* SAGE HILL: Coach Tom Monarch said the key to the Lightning’s

most lopsided victory in school history, a 40-7 shellacking of Twin

Pines, wasn’t a new game plan or advanced scouting reports.

“It was just the basic fundamentals were so much better than the

week before,” he said. “Our ‘backers were filling gaps [on running

plays] and we tackled better.”

Monarch said his defensive goal has been to force opponents to

throw by eliminating the running game. The Sage Hill defense allowed

a paltry 17 rushing yards and an even more impressive 27 yards total

offense.

“Not to beat a dead horse, but it was simple fundamentals,”

Monarch said. “We executed and they didn’t execute at all.”

Monarch said freshman quarterback Jamie McGee is completely

healthy and suffered no problems from earlier shoulder and ankle

injuries.

“He’s fine and he played well,” Monarch said. “Our pass blocking

was much better, and we went to shotgun [formation to give McGee

extra time].”

Monarch said McGee’s natural athleticism is a major strength, but

having quality targets in receiver Braden Ross, tight end Stephen

Hancock and running back Keya Manshadi helps.

“[McGee’s] very lucky to have Keya, Braden and Hancock to throw

to,” Monarch said. “Those guys are like teachers out there for Jamie.

Braden, [last year’s starting quarterback], did not have that caliber

of receivers to throw to last year.”

Sage Hill (2-1) will travel to Valley Christian in Cerritos to

play Fairmont Prep (1-3) Saturday.

* COSTA MESA: Coach Tom Baldwin has said that first impressions

after a game are usually different from those formed after watching

the game film. He believes you’re not as good, or bad, as you

thought.

But following the Mustang’s 10-9 loss to Laguna Beach Saturday and

after watching the film, Baldwin said the same thing: Costa Mesa did

not play well.

“We played terrible,” he said Sunday. “If we played anywhere near

the level we played in our previous games we would have won.”

He said Laguna Beach ran exactly the plays Costa Mesa practiced

against, but the offensive line failed to block the correct people.

“[The offensive line] played horribly and they need to be

corrected,” Baldwin said. “When one person plays bad, you can say

that that person isn’t a good player. But when everyone plays bad,

you have to blame the coach. I’m taking the blame for how poorly the

team played.”

Baldwin said he wasn’t happy with the defensive line, either.

“We played better defensively than we did offensively,” Baldwin

said. “But we got saved because they tried to run a trick play every

drive. We were just standing around and we never got tricked.”

Baldwin was happy with the play of the cornerbacks and

linebackers, who kept the Breaker receivers from making any big

plays. He was also happy with the running backs.

“Any yards they gained were from effort, because we weren’t

blocking anybody,” Baldwin said. “From the very first play, we were

blocking the wrong people.”

Costa Mesa (0-4) opens Golden West League action at Westminster

(2-2), last year’s league runner-up.

* ESTANCIA: The Eagles used their bye week to concentrate on one

aspect of the game that often gets overlooked.

“We haven’t been too good on special teams,” Coach Craig Fertig

said. “We’ve spent a lot of time on special teams this week. I’d like

to see us return a kick off for a touchdown.”

Estancia (2-1) will get a chance to implement what it practiced

Friday against defending Golden West League champion Orange (3-1) at

Orange Coast College.