Brinkley wins 200

Brinkley 200th winNewport Harbor High football coach reaches career landmark with victory over visiting Irvine on Thursday.Newport Harbor High football coach Jeff Brinkley reached a career milestone Thursday, earning his 200th victory as a high school head coach.

Brinkley, in his 20th season at Newport Harbor, is now 170-67-3 at the helm of the Sailors.

He produced 30 victories in his previous stops at Norwalk and Excelsior.

“The best thing about it is my dad [Roy] got to see it,” Brinkley said of the 34-14 Sea View League home triumph over Irvine.

Brinkley said there was no celebration of the accomplishment, which put the Sailors (6-3, 3-1 in league) in position to earn a share of the league championship with a victory Thursday over first-place Laguna Hills.

“It’s nice to have it behind me,” Brinkley said. “It’s also nice because all my assistant coaches, some of whom played for me, are also a big part of it.”

-- Barry Faulkner