Four football aces?

Barry Faulkner

The 1998 football season was one of disappointment for

Newport-Mesa District schools, as, for the first time since 1986, no

local squad won a postseason game.

Just one year later, however, all four may get a chance to redeem

themselves in the CIF Southern Section playoffs. What’s more, Corona del

Mar, Costa Mesa, Estancia and Newport Harbor may all enter the postseason

as league champions.

Newport Harbor (7-0-1, 3-0 in league) wrapped up at least a share of the

Sea View League title Friday. The Sailors will enter as the league’s No.

1 representative in the 16-team CIF Division VI bracket, regardless of

what happens its final two games.

The ninth title in school history could be the program’s fifth outright

crown, should Coach Jeff Brinkley’s Tars defeat host Aliso Niguel in the

regular-season finale Nov. 12.

The other three schools are battling for Pacific Coast League spoils. And

battling quite well, thank you.

Corona del Mar, despite losing all six nonleague contests, is 2-0 in

league play and can seize the school’s sixth league title, its third

outright crown and the first league championship since 1987, by taking

care of University (Friday) and Costa Mesa (Nov. 12).

Estancia (5-3, 2-1) and Costa Mesa (6-2, 1-1) maintain legitimate title

aspirations with two weeks left in the regular season.

A very viable PCL scenario, in fact, would render Mesa, CdM and Estancia

tri-champions. Should CdM and Estancia defeat University and Mesa follow

a win over Laguna Beach Friday with a victory over CdM, all three local

contingents would finish league 3-1. Since all three would be 1-1 against

one another in the minileague tiebreaker, coin flips would determine each

school’s league designation (first, second or third) for the CIF Division

IX playoffs.

Such a scenario, creating four Newport-Mesa league champions, would be

historic. Not once, in fact, have all four local schools made the

playoffs in the same season, let alone won league titles.

Only twice before have more than one Newport-Mesa school won a league

title in the same season. Costa Mesa shared the South Coast League crown

with CdM in 1976, while Mesa (South Coast league co-champs) and CdM (Sea

View League co-champs) both finished atop league standings in ’78.

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If Newport Harbor is able to finish the regular season unbeaten, an

accomplishment matched only by the school’s 1942 and ’94 editions, the

Tars could conceivably be the top seed in Division VI.

The Sailors are currently sandwiched in the Division VI rankings by No. 1

Mayfair (8-0) and No. 3 La Mirada (7-1). The two Suburban League powers,

who played for the CIF Division VIII title last fall (La Mirada won,

28-14), are scheduled to collide Nov. 12 at Bellflower High. Assuming

both win this week and La Mirada takes the regular-season finale, either

the Sailors (if still unbeaten) or La Mirada will be awarded the top

seed.

Winning league titles would hardly distinguish local football players

from their fellow fall-sport athletes.

Newport Harbor teams have already locked up Sea View championships in

girls tennis, girls volleyball and girls golf.

The Sailors could complete Sea View championship runs this week in boys

water polo, boys cross country and girls cross country.

Across the Back Bay, CdM has earned its inaugural PCL titles in girls

volleyball, boys water polo, and girls tennis, with additional spoils

likely to be finalized in boys and girls cross country this week (both

already swept their league dual meets).

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The biggest score posted by the Costa Mesa High football program last

week may not have been the school-record 63-0 victory margin against La

Quinta Thursday night.

That distinction might go to Friday’s 10-8 junior varsity win over Mater

Dei.

“That was a real exciting, back-and-forth game,” Mesa varsity coach Jerry

Howell said. “It was a real big win for those kids.”