Newport Harbor to battle for CIF title

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA -- For the second straight season, once is not enough for

the football programs from Newport Harbor and Irvine high schools.

The two Sea View League rivals, whose regular-season showdowns

frequently decide league supremacy, will square off for a much bigger

prize tonight in the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship game.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Orange Coast College.

It’s the third CIF title confrontation for the Sailors (11-2) and

Vaqueros (13-0) since 1992. They’ve split the first two. Newport came

from behind to win last year, 19-18, and captured its second section

crown in 69 varsity seasons.

Irvine, gunning for its first undefeated season in its 24-year varsity

history, won the 1992 title clash, 30-8. That was the second of three

straight section titles won by Irvine, led by 20-year Head Coach Terry

Henigan.

Jeff Brinkley, who took over the Sailors’ helm in 1986, has guided the

Tars to five CIF finals over the last nine years. Their 1994 crown capped

a 14-0 season.

Newport Harbor’s offense is led by senior tailback Chris Manderino,

who has rushed for 2,068 yards and scored 31 touchdowns, the latter a

Newport-Mesa district single-season record. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound

tailback has 619 yards and 10 touchdown in three playoff wins, including

a 35-16 semifinal upset of top-seeded La Mirada.

Irvine, the only unbeaten team in Orange County, is keyed by a defense

that has allowed a county-low 90 points this season.

Irvine won, 19-14, in the league game against Newport on Oct. 13 at

Irvine Stadium.