High School Football Preview: Newport Harbor vs. Trabuco Hills

Newport Harbor vs. Trabuco Hills

When/where: Friday, 7 p.m. at Trabuco Hills High

Key Sailors: Jr. QB Cole Norris; Sr. WR-DB Quest Truxton; Sr. OL-DL Ramsey Hufford; Jr. LB-RB-WR Riley Gaddis.

Key Mustangs: Sr. QB Tommy Kelley; Sr. WR-DB Sam Smith; Jr. WR Jacob Breeland; Sr. LB Nick Leduc.

Breakdown: The Mustangs have beaten the Sailors in the last two season openers, the first time the Tars have lost back-to-back openers since 1981-82 ... Newport Harbor, coming off a 7-5 season, is ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division ... Norris threw for 1,463 yards and 16 TDs while starting 10 games as a sophomore ... Trabuco Hills, guided by former Orange Coast College defensive coordinator Scott Orloff, was 5-5 last season, but returns eight starters on offense and five on defense ... Kelley threw for 140 yards and one TD and ran for 47 yards and two TDs in Trabuco Hills’ 31-10 season-opening win over Dana Hills on Aug. 30 ... Tars’ Coach Jeff Brinkley, in his 28th season at the helm, is 21-5-1 in openers, but 2-3 in openers against Trabuco Hills ... Brinkley is seeking his 250th career win ... Leduc shared team-lead with eight tackles last week. In 2012, Leduc made 75 tackles, 12 for losses.

— Barry Faulkner