Sailors defuse Chargers

Newport Harbor gives up plenty of yards, but wins the battle where it counts -- on the scoreboard -- in a Division VI quarterfinal.NEWPORT BEACH -- The Newport Harbor High football team dodged a few bullets, withstood repeated bombs and even shrugged off some blown assignments Friday night.

The result was a 28-7 victory over visiting Charter Oak in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs.

The win propelled the Sailors (9-3) into a Dec. 3 semifinal clash against Tustin. The Tillers (6-6), guided by former Costa Mesa High coach Myron Miller, defeated Aliso Niguel, 28-10, Friday night.

The semifinal will be played at Tustin, as determined by a coin flip.

“We hung in,” said Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley, who watched the No. 3-seeded Chargers (8-4) pile up 497 yards of offense.

But the Sailors’ defense seemed to have a response for every Charter Oak volley. The Sailors intercepted four passes, recovered one fumble and sacked Chargers quarterback Drew Carreon four times.

“Our plan was to make them throw to beat us,” Brinkley said. “They threw it pretty well, but any time you give up only seven points, it’s a good night of defense. I’ll take that every week.”

The Miramonte League co-champions, who had won four straight, appeared ready to take the early lead on their first offensive possession.

Charter Oak tailback Brian Hunter sprinted 36 yards to the Newport Harbor 1-yard line on the fifth play after the visitors took over at their own 47-yard line.

But on the next snap, Newport Harbor junior defensive end Mike Calabrese knocked the ball loose while tackling Hunter, and Sailors’ cornerback Fernando Lara pounced on the fumble at the 3-yard line.

The Sailors also turned the Chargers away on their next possession, on which the visitors had first-and-goal at the 2.

But after Charter Oak ran for 3 yards on fourth-and-inches from the 5, two penalties and tackles for losses by Calabrese and Jayme Ohlhaver put the Chargers on the retreat. Eventually, the visitors missed a 30-yard field-goal attempt and Newport had a surge of momentum.

The Sailors cashed in with a seven-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Ryan Rippon’s 9-yard touchdown run with 10:43 left in the second quarter.

Lara added the first of his four conversion kicks and the Sailors led the rest of the way.

Lara returned an interception 11 yards to his own 44-yard line to set up the Tars’ second touchdown.

Tom Jackson threw a perfect strike to Jarrett Daniel on a post pattern for a 56-yard score with 33 seconds left in the half and the Sailors were bound for their seventh semifinal appearance in the last 11 seasons.

Charter Oak got on the board with a 60-yard bomb from Carreon to Michael Johnson with 2:30 left in the third quarter to halve the halftime deficit.

But Rippon, who finished with 165 rushing yards on 20 carries, scored on a 7-yard run to cap the Sailors’ ensuing possession.

Rippon’s touchdown completed a six-play, 64-yard drive that began with a 19-yard Jackson pass to tight end Billy Brown.

After Newport Harbor’s Keith Eldridge intercepted at his own 11 to halt the Chargers’ next possession, Rippon followed 383-pound offensive tackle Frank Muscatello through a huge hole on his way to an 89-yard touchdown that finalized the scoring. Muscatello pulled from his right tackle spot on the play that wound up off left tackle.

For good measure, Lara and safety James Coder added interceptions for the winners on a pass knocked from a receiver’s grasp.

Calabrese and defensive end Scott Andrews each had solo sacks and the duo shared another. Noseguard Delano McKenzie and safety Brett Green combined for another sack.

Calabrese also stopped a scramble by Carreon for no gain and Jackson ran Carreon out of bounds for a 4-yard loss to further frustrate the visitors.

“Our defense gave us momentum,” said McKenzie, who was singled out by Charter Oak Coach Lou Farrar for his consistent ability to beat blockers.

“Stopping them on that first drive gave us a lot of energy,” McKenzie said. “We kept working hard and I think [Charger offensive linemen] were getting tired. The more tired they got, the more [ticked] off they got.”

“Their defensive front was quicker than we thought,” Farrar said. “[McKenzie] gave us fits all night.”

The Sailors altered their four-three defensive scheme to help them limit Hunter, who came in averaging nearly 129 rushing yards per game.

Newport moved outside linebacker Brown up on the line as a stand-up end. The Sailors shifted a safety, most often Green, to an outside linebacker spot for a five-three alignment.

The Sailors, however, reverted to their four-three for the second half, when Charter Oak took to the air.

“We missed those scoring opportunities early and [the Sailors] kind of took us out of our running game,” Farrar said. “Thank goodness Matt Austin got off the bus tonight. He really helped us move the ball.”

Austin, a 6-foot-3 receiver who consistently out-jumped defenders to catch Carreon’s rainbow aerials, finished with 10 receptions for 209 yards.

Johnson added 107 receiving yards on six catches.

But, with a few exceptions, cornerbacks Lara and Eldridge -- as well as the safety rotation of Green, Coder and Jackson -- kept Charter Oak receivers in front of them.

The play by the secondary, which included underneath coverage by linebackers Brown, David Rosales and Nick Frazier, helped limit Charter Oak to just one touchdown.

Hunter wound up with 111 yards on 19 rushing attempts, but had only three runs of more than 6 yards, and only one of more than 17.

Brinkley praised Jackson’s ability to make plays at critical times. Jackson was just 5 for 13 passing, including a handful of balls he intentionally threw away. But he finished with 152 passing yards.

Daniel averaged 42.5 yards on his two catches.

NEWPORT HARBOR 28, CHARTER OAK 7

SCORE BY QUARTERS