Cablay makes plays for Tars

Not many will remember how on the first play from scrimmage last week Keaton Cablay dropped an easy pass. Cablay does, and he can laugh about it now.

He made sure to come up with the pass on the game’s final play.

The pass went in Cablay’s direction, and it’s one he and Newport Harbor High fans at Davidson Field that night will never forget. Cablay caught the pass, not as a wide receiver, but as an outside linebacker, and he saved the Sailors.

Twenty-nine seconds after Cablay hauled in a go-ahead 13-yard touchdown pass, the senior, with no time on the clock, intercepted a pass in the end zone. Cablay came up with the two biggest balls, and Newport Harbor held on for a 52-48 come-from-behind win against Huntington Beach in a Sunset League opener.

Out of all the balls Cablay caught, and there were 14 on the offensive end for 177 yards and four touchdowns, the last one on defense proved to be the easiest to handle.

After seeing quarterback Chad James throw the ball into the end zone, Cablay attacked it. He jumped in front of the intended receiver to pick off the pass, sealing the win. He fell to the ground, where teammates swarmed him, along with a throng of fans making their way onto the field to celebrate.

The moment is one Cablay dreamed of as a football player, making a play at the end to win. Delivering the play, in front of family, friends and alumni, and against the team that beat the Sailors twice last year, including in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division final, meant so much to Cablay.

“I just wanted to make everyone proud, especially my family,” Cablay said.

The Cablay family has made a name for itself at Newport Harbor. Cablay’s two older brothers, Kyle and Kory, used to play football for the Sailors.

The third Cablay to suit up at the school is Keaton, who was blessed with the size in the family. He’s 6-foot-2, and his brothers are below 5-10.

Keaton sees himself as just another Cablay contributing to Coach Jeff Brinkley’s success. Brinkley has won a lot during his 37 years as a head coach, 29 of those with the Sailors. He reached a milestone last week, earning his 260th career win because of Cablay’s late-game heroics.

Brinkley is one of only 22 coaches who have won at least 260 football games in California. The Cablay brothers have been a part of 35 of those victories, producing on both sides of the ball.

Keaton plays the same position on offense as Kory did as a senior three years ago. On defense is where Kory stood out as a cornerback, garnering first-team All-Sunset League honors.

Keaton has a knack for being around the ball and catching it, whether on offense or defense. Back when Kory played for Brinkley, the Sailors didn’t fling the ball around as much as they do now.

Through six games, the youngest Cablay has 48 catches for 626 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Sailors’ top receiver in 2011, when Kory last played, finished with 40 receptions for 574 yards and five touchdowns. Times have sure changed with the Sailors, who last year featured two receivers with 83 catches, a Newport Harbor single-season record.

Cablay said he learned how to play the position from those two record-setting wideouts, Quest Truxton and Cory Stowell. Last week, Cablay tied Truxton’s Newport Harbor single-game records for catches (14) and receiving touchdowns (four).

If the Sailors (3-3, 1-0 in league) qualify for the CIF Southern Section West Valley Division playoffs, a win Friday against Los Alamitos (5-1, 1-0) at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach can improve their chances, Cablay will be on track to break the receptions mark held by Truxton and Stowell, and possibly Truxton’s Newport Harbor single-season records for receiving yards (1,325) and receiving touchdowns (17).

Cablay doesn’t possess Truxton and Stowell’s linear speed, but Brinkley said he likes Cablay’s route running and hands. He also appreciates Cablay’s physical play.

Cablay, a 195-pounder, goes all out. He showed his will to win on the Sailors’ last scoring drive. They trailed, 48-45, with 2:06 left, and had the ball on their 20-yard line. Quarterback Cole Norris went on to complete five of nine passes for 57 yards on the drive, and it could have been better if not for two dropped passes and a defensive back breaking up a pass.

As he had most of the evening, Norris targeted Cablay four times on the drive. He failed to hook up with Cablay on the first two attempts. The final two throws Cablay snagged the ball. The first one Cablay laid out to make a fantastic 16-yard grab, setting up the offense on the Oilers’ 22 with 50 seconds to go. To stop the clock, Norris spiked the ball.

Norris decided to run on the next play. He gained 14 yards, giving him 77 yards on seven carries. With the ball on the eight, the Sailors committed a false start penalty, moving the ball five yards back. Out of timeouts, and with 37 seconds showing, Norris went to the air, to Cablay.

Cablay ran a quick out pattern, stretching it a couple yards further than the intended five yards. Near the five-yard line, Cablay caught the ball in stride, before diving for the pylon to help put the Sailors ahead, 52-48, with 29 seconds left.

Norris’ sixth touchdown topped his own Newport Harbor single-game record. While Norris stood on the sideline, finishing with 346 yards on 28-of-43 passing, with one interception, the game was far from over.

Cablay, who had touchdown receptions in every quarter, a seven-yarder in the first, a 17-yarder in the second, and a 23-yarder in the third, returned to the field to stop Huntington Beach. The first objective was to tackle John Davis, who burned the Sailors on special teams four minutes into the second half by returning a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

On a squib kick, Davis only managed a 28-yard return, leaving the Oilers on their 34. Nevertheless, it took just two pass plays and 15 seconds for the Oilers to reach Newport Harbor’s 17, where they called their third and final timeout. Eight seconds remained. Then two seconds after James’ pass sailed out of the end zone.

The final pass went toward Cablay. Unlike the game’s first play from scrimmage, he came down with the ball and the Sailors survived the highest-scoring game in their program’s history.

“It was unreal,” Cablay said of the finish and the number of points the Sailors and Oilers combined for in the second half, 69, one shy of the seventh highest scoring half in state history. “The game reminded me of last year’s [49-48 upset] win against [top-seeded] La Habra [in the quarterfinals] at home. We also pulled off that win [in the final two minutes], putting together a game-winning drive [from our 19]. Those down-to-the-wire games are the kind of games players, coaches and fans want to be a part of because they’re fun, especially when you win.”

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Keaton Cablay

Born: March 4, 1997

Hometown: La Jolla

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 195 pounds

Sport: Football

Year: Senior

Coach: Jeff Brinkley

Favorite food: Spam musubi and kalua pork

Favorite movie: “The Pursuit of Happyness”

Favorite athletic moment: “Last game.”

Week in review: With no time left on the clock, Cablay intercepted a pass in the end zone, sealing the Sailors’ 52-48 come-from-behind win against Huntington Beach in a Sunset League opener at home. Cablay also caught the go-ahead touchdown pass with 29 seconds to go, giving him 14 catches for 177 yards and four touchdowns. The receptions and touchdowns match Newport Harbor single-game records.