Prep football: Tars clinch CIF berth

Barry Faulkner

MISSION VIEJO - The Newport Harbor High football team did what it

needed to do Friday night to clinch a CIF Southern Section Division VI

playoff berth with two weeks left in the regular season.

But Sea View League host Laguna Hills showed the Sailors there is

still work to be done to earn a league title, not to mention trying to

extend that playoff run to the division title game for a third straight

year.

The Hawks (3-5, 0-2 in league), handed Newport (6-0-1, 3-0), ranked

No. 7 in Orange County and No. 2 in CIF Division VI, all the adversity it

could handle, before bowing, 20-10, at Mission Viejo High.

“They came out and played harder than we did,” said Newport senior

two-way starter Bryan Breland, who made perhaps the biggest play of the

night to help Harbor avoid an even bigger early deficit.

“We weren’t ready to play and hopefully this will wake us up,” said

Newport Coach Jeff Brinkley, who saw his team fall behind for the first

time all season to the hyped up Hawks. “We tell the kids they’re going to

have to deal with adversity through this thing and we had some tonight.”

Laguna Hills drove 73 yards on 12 plays with the opening kickoff, with

quarterback Chris Johnson capping the march with a 13-yard touchdown pass

to Dane Endly with 6:48 left in the first quarter.

The drive handed Harbor its first deficit of the season and was only

the second long touchdown procession posted against the starting

defensive unit that came in leading Orange County in fewest points

allowed (37).

Laguna Hills, whose flex defense held the highly touted Sailor ground

attack to just rushing 115 yards, forced a punt after the ensuing

kickoff, before the Hawks began marching right back down the field.

Laguna Hills took 11 plays to reach the Sailors’ 4-yard line, but on

second-and-goal from the 5, Breland punched the ball free on an option

keeper and linebacker Dave Erickson recovered at the 4 to turn away the

threat.

A Laguna Hills interception, on a pass that went into and out of the

hands of Harbor receiver, then set the Hawks up for what would become a

40-yard Andrew Larson field goal with 5:31 left to extend the lead to

10-0.

Harbor, however, drove 80 yards on 12 plays to draw to within 10-7

with 31 seconds left in the half, then came up big on defense, once

again, to recapture some momentum heading into intermission.

After Jon Vandersloot made a sliding touchdown catch of a 5-yard

Morgan Craig pass to put the Tars on the board, Matt Chandler returned

Harbor’s kickoff 36 yards to his own 41.

On the first offensive snap, Johnson connected with Endly on a 51-yard

bomb to the Tars’ 8 with 15 seconds left.

After a pass into the end zone was broken up by Harbor defenders,

Laguna Hills called timeout with eight seconds left and decided not to

risk trying another play. But the snap for what would have been a 25-yard

Larson field-goal attempt, never made it to the holder, and Harbor middle

linebacker Cory Ray fell on the fumble to keep the Sailors within three.

“We flubbed the snap,” Laguna Hills Coach Bruce Ingalls said. “Our

regular snapper got hurt, so this was our backup. I think the ball

slipped out of his hands.”

Ray said the ill-fated snap ricocheted just in front of the ball wound

up in front of the snapper and he pounced on it to disappoint the home

crowd.

Harbor further dashed the hosts’ growing upset hopes by marching 80

yards on 14 plays for the go-ahead touchdown on the opening series of the

second half.

“The coaches say it’s all about momentum,” Breland said. “(Craig) did

a great job of leading us on that drive. We knew we had to step it up.”

With Laguna Hills containing the Harbor ground game, Craig stepped it

up through the air. He completed all five pass attempts for 51 yards on

the go-ahead drive and also ran two times for 10 yards. His 1-yard

scoring sneak, put the Tars ahead, 13-10, where the score remained after

the conversion kick sailed wide.

An incomplete pass on fourth-and-12 stalled the ensuing Laguna Hills

possession at the Sailors’ 44-yard line and turnovers killed the final

three Hawks’ offensive opportunities. Laguna Hills never punted.

Newport Harbor defensive end Jim Rothwell recovered a fumble at the

Laguna Hills 28-yard line to set up short-yardage back Matt Casserly’s

2-yard run for an insurance TD with 6:44 left in the game.

Senior cornerback Adam Kerns intercepted twice to help Harbor advance

to a Sea View title showdown Friday against visiting Woodbridge (6-1,

2-0). The Warriors thumped Laguna Hills last week, 42-21.

Craig finished 15 of 18 for 176 yards and a touchdown and added 52

rushing yards on eight carries.

Vandersloot had three catches for 44 yards, including a 23-yard

reception to the Hawks’ 2 on fourth-and-seven to set up the final TD.

Senior Brian Gaeta caught five passes for 43 yards and Dartangan

Johnson wound up with a team-leading 62 rushing yards on 22 carries.

Johnson completed 15 of 21 for 183 yards and Matt Chandler rushed 19

times for 76 yards to lead the Hawks’ valiant effort.

“We’ve played these guys pretty tough for three years now,” Ingalls

said. “We’re just missing one or two plays here and there, which turn out

to be the difference.