Two-minute drill

The Costa Mesa High football players weren’t the only ones who took away some bumps and bruises from the 27-13 Battle for the Bell victory over crosstown and Orange Coast League rival Estancia Friday.

Mustangs Coach Jeremy Osso lamented to reporters afterward that the bucket of ice water dumped over his head to celebrate the win, made contact with the left side of his skull.

“Our guys don’t know how to throw a stinking bucket,” Osso said with a smile, noting it was the second straight year he was dinged in the head by the ritual.

“But it’s all right,” he said after it was suggested that a potential bruise beats the alternative.

 After missing out on No. 200 in back-to-back weeks, Coach Jeff Brinkley reached the career milestone for victories at Newport Harbor High on a crucial Friday night.

The Sailors opened Sunset League play by pulling off a 23-20 upset of visiting Los Alamitos, then-ranked No. 6 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll. Newport Harbor (4-2, 1-0 in league) snapped a two-game losing streak.

Brinkley, 56, beat Orange County’s winningest coach to join seven other coaches who have won at least 200 at county schools.

“They have a tradition of winning,” Brinkley said of the Griffins, who have been coached by John Barnes since 1979.

Brinkley has led the Sailors to three straight victories against Barnes’ Griffins. In his career, Barnes has 277 wins.

 Newport Harbor returned to the Pac-5 top 10 at No. 10, while Los Alamitos fell to No. 8.

Top-ranked Edison (6-0) is the Sailors’ next opponent, Friday at 7 at Newport Harbor.

Newport Harbor hasn’t been able to beat the Chargers under Brinkley, losing three straight league games to Edison, coached by former Orange Coast College quarterback Dave White.

 Sage Hill School improved to 5-1 with its 25-6 nonleague road triumph against Citrus Valley Friday.

Coach J.R. Tolver’s Lightning, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section East Valley Division, visit Linfield Christian (6-0), ranked No. 2 in the Northeast Division, Friday at 7 p.m.

Friday’s game was the first in four weeks for Sage junior quarterback Randall Mycorn, who had been sidelined with a separated non-throwing shoulder. Mycorn completed 11 of 21 passes for 156 yards and two TDs.

 Osso has a unique perspective on not only the Costa Mesa-Estancia rivalry, but how it compares to other storied Orange County matchups.

Osso played at Estancia and worked three season as an assistant coach there, before spending three seasons as a Mesa assistant, then taking over as head coach four seasons ago.

He also spent time as an assistant coach at Corona del Mar and coached in the baseball program at Los Alamitos.

“I’ve coached in the Newport-CdM one and the Los Al-Esperanza one, but this [Costa Mesa-Estancia rivalry] is much more fierce,” Osso said. “It just seems like there’s more dislike for the opposing school. It’s just a fierce rivalry.”

 Osso said before the game that he expected Estancia senior tailback Alex Abalos to play, despite a notion that he would be sidelined due to a bruised knee sustained the previous week.

And, in fact, Abalos played a huge role for the Eagles, breaking off runs of 50 and 47 yards, the latter for a touchdown, and producing 144 yards on 19 carries off the bench.

But Abalos crawled off the field with a sprained ankle after his first carry of the fourth quarter and never returned.

 Newport Harbor quarterback Austin Rios elevated his play in the second half against Los Alamitos.

After having an interception returned 97 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter, he led the game-winning drive late in the fourth.

The first-year starter capped a 15-play, 70-yard drive by hooking up with receiver Parker Norton for a six-yard touchdown with 85 seconds left to play. The pass came on fourth-and-goal.

“It was nerve-racking,” Brinkley said of watching the drive, which lasted 4:54.

Rios, who went eight for 12 passing for 105 yards in the second half, delivered some clutch throws on the drive.

 Newport Harbor junior running backs Drew Diller and Cedric Whitaker became the first two players to rush for a touchdown against Los Alamitos’ defense this season.

In the previous five games, the Griffins recorded three shutouts and allowed a total of 19 points.

Diller carried it once resulting in a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Whitaker scored on a 54-yard run in the second quarter and finished with 135 yards on 20 carries.

 Norton has intercepted a pass in five straight Newport Harbor games.

 Both coaches talked about limiting mistakes and it was clear which team had the advantage in that department in the Battle for the Bell.

Estancia committed the game’s only two turnovers, while Costa Mesa had just two penalties for 14 yards.

Two of Estancia’s nine penalties produced Costa Mesa first downs, including an encroachment infraction on fourth-and-one at the Eagles’ three-yard line that created a first-and-goal situation that the Mustangs cashed in for a touchdown and a 13-6 lead.

On one first-quarter possession alone, Estancia penalties erased gains of 11 and 34 yards, as the drive fizzled near midfield and the Eagles punted.

The Eagles couldn’t even leave well enough alone when they prospered. While scoring Estancia’s first touchdown, the ballcarrier high-stepped his way into the end zone, prompting an unsportsmanlike conduct flag that made the ensuing conversion kick a 35-yard attempt.

The kick had plenty of distance, but caromed off the left upright and was no good, leaving the Eagles behind, 7-6.

 Estancia Coach Mike Bargas was openly critical of himself about his decision to go for it on fourth-and-eight on his own 49-yard line with about seven minutes left and the Eagles trailing, 20-13.

“It was a stupid call on my part,” Bargas said. “We had something set up and it didn’t work as planned.”

Costa Mesa linebacker Josh Erno halted the play with a three-yard sack and the Mustangs drove 46 yards for their final touchdown.

 Costa Mesa High’s short passing game operated with precision. Senior quarterback Todd Davis completed 15 of 28 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Davis completed all five of his first-quarter attempts, including an eight-yard slant to Luis Gomez for a touchdown on Mesa’s first possession.

In addition, both passes thrown by Erno, a running back who took some direct snaps in the shotgun, were completed for seven-yard gains and a pair of first downs.

The five straight completions to open the game made it 17 straight completed passes thrown against Estancia, which surrendered 12 straight at the end of a 20-10 loss to Ocean View on Oct. 9.

For Davis, it was a more satisfying ending than the Mustangs’ 14-7 win over Estancia last season, when Davis left the game with a fractured rib.

“Beat them Eagles; eat some ribs,” Davis said afterward, making reference to the traditional postgame meal at Newport Rib Company for the winning team’s players and coaches. “This year, I got to finish the game,” Davis said. “I love it.”

 Corona del Mar Coach Jason Hitchens hasn’t been able to beat Laguna Hills in Pacific Coast League play.

No other team has either since the Hawks rejoined the league in 2006.

The Sea Kings lost to Laguna Hills, 27-0, in the league opener at Newport Harbor High Thursday. In the last four seasons the Hawks are 11-0-1 in league play.

“They controlled the line of scrimmage offensively,” said Hitchens, whose team was outrushed, 324-91.

In the two losses this year, the Sea Kings (4-2, 0-1 in league) have been outscored, 64-7.

Laguna Hills’ running attack proved to be too formidable. CdM lost to the Hawks for the fourth straight year.

“More than any team we’ve played so far, they did a better job running against us than even Newport Harbor did,” Hitchens said.

 CdM tries to get back on track after suffering its first shutout of the season. The Sea Kings play a league game at Irvine (4-2, 1-0) Thursday.

The Sea Kings might be without the services of J.D. Abbott, who’s the starting running back and strong safety. The senior sat out the Laguna Hills game with a sprained left ankle.

“At this point in time, I don’t know when he will be back,” Hitchens said of Abbott, who leads the Sea Kings with 660 rushing yards.

“You’re missing your No. 1 running back, that does factor into some of the things you can and can’t do on offense, but guys have to still step up and play.”

— From staff reports