Brinkley getting closer

After tonight, Newport Harbor High Coach Jeff Brinkley should be three wins away from No. 200.

The Sailors kick off the season at lowly Aliso Niguel at 7 p.m. with a lot of hope and inexperience. The most experience comes from their coach, who’s entering his 24th season.

“I think we’re ready to play a game,” said Brinkley, whose team scrimmaged Troy last week. “We got a lot of guys who need game experience.

“We’re the type of team that can beat anybody, but we’re also the type of team that anybody can beat.”

Don’t expect Newport Harbor to lose. The Sailors are the favorites heading into the nonleague game.

Aliso Niguel dropped its opener last week, extending its losing streak to 17 games dating back to the 2007 season. The Wolverines almost snapped their slide last week, falling to El Toro, 19-14.

Newport Harbor’s big test is a week away at home against Los Angeles Loyola, ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division coaches’ poll. The Sailors aren’t overlooking Aliso Niguel.

“We’ve done a pretty good job over the years of focusing on one game at a time,” Brinkley said. “[Aliso Niguel] has changed things up from years past, moving away from the pistol offense to a more traditional one.”

One tradition Newport plans to continue is hammering the Wolverines on the field.

The faces have changed since the last three games the Sailors have outscored Aliso Niguel, 94-10.

Junior Austin Rios starts at quarterback and senior Gabe Gomez at running back for the first time. One familiar face is Cecil Whiteside, a four-year player.

The UC Berkeley-bound senior leads the Sailors on both sides of the ball. Whiteside starts at wide receiver and middle linebacker.

The Sailors are going to use the 6-foot-3, 222-pounder as much as possible. He will return kicks and at times carry the ball out of the backfield.

Aliso Niguel remembers Whiteside from a year ago. The linebacker sacked the quarterback twice and scored after blocking a punt as Newport Harbor rolled to a 58-7 victory.

“You’ve got to start small first, of course winning Game 1,” Whiteside said of the team’s expectations this season after finishing 7-3 overall and sharing the Sunset League title after a 3-2 record. “This is going to be a really good team. We’re fast. We’re young. We’re just going to get after it this year.

“I would hope we would get [Brinkley’s 200th win] before league starts, because it means we’re doing a pretty good job handling our business.”