Los Al romps over Sailors
Following a high snap on a punt, the Newport Harbor High football team took over the ball on the Los Alamitos five-yard line in the fourth quarter Friday night.
“We want a touchdown,” Sailors fans chanted, still looking for the home team’s first points of the night.
The game had long been decided, but the Griffins remained stingy on defense. Newport Harbor couldn’t punch it in with two incomplete passes and a run, and the drive ended when Los Alamitos’ Darien Cornay intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Nothing seemed to go the Sailors’ way, in all facets. They were shut out for the first time in three years.
Los Alamitos was on its way to a dominating 49-0 Sunset League victory at Davidson Field, snapping a five-game winning streak to earn its first league win.
“We had a spark and we just did a lot of good things,” Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes said . “These guys are tough to beat on their home [field].”
Barnes, who added to his Orange County record with his 324th overall win, knows just how tough. He tried and failed to do so in 2011 and 2013, but his Griffins (3-5, 1-2) have had their way the last two seasons against the Sailors (3-5, 1-2). Last year, Newport Harbor gave up a program record for points in a game in the Griffins’ 62-27 win. This year, the Griffins were at 49 points by midway through the third quarter.
With two games left in league, Los Alamitos and Newport Harbor are in a three-way tie for third place with Huntington Beach. All three teams are 1-2 in league. Edison and Fountain Valley both remained undefeated and tied for first Friday night with wins over Huntington Beach and Marina, respectively.
The Sailors committed four turnovers against Los Alamitos, and the first came on the opening drive. A 27-yard draw play would be their longest from scrimmage on the night, but the running back fumbled and Los Al’s Cornay recovered on his own 12-yard line.
Barnes said that the Griffins got back Cornay (ankle) and Jacob Gasser (thumb) from injury on Friday. After Cornay recovered the fumble, it was Gasser’s turn to make a play that involved some trickery. Quarterback Jack Telenko made a backward pass to receiver Holden Edmondson, who found Gasser wide open for an 88-yard touchdown reception.
Gasser would find the end zone twice more. These times the touchdown passes, for 57 and 21 yards respectively, came from Telenko. He finished with four catches for 191 yards and the three touchdowns.
“They make a huge difference,” Barnes said of having the two seniors, Gasser and Cornay, back in the lineup. “I think if we had those guys the whole deal, we’d have been somewhat better off. You know, I’m really happy that our kids haven’t quit. It’s so easy to give up when you haven’t been winning, especially when you’re losing close games and you’re missing guys. I think tonight told me that they like playing football. They played disciplined, good football.”
Newport Harbor junior tailback Cole Kinder had a solid night, with 27 carries for 111 yards. But the Sailors struggled in the passing game, completing just six of 18 passes with three interceptions.
Cornay had two of the interceptions for Los Alamitos, and former Estancia standout Dylan Laurent added one. Laurent also scored two touchdowns, one on a 27-yard reception and another on a 66-yard punt return.
The Sailors, who trailed 28-0 at halftime, seemed to have no answers. Coach Jeff Brinkley was not surprised that defending league champion Los Alamitos played well.
“They have a good football team, and they’ve played some quality opponents and some tough games,” Brinkley said. “Their record didn’t indicate how good they were. The level of play that they’ve been playing is extremely high.”
With only three teams from the league guaranteed playoff spots in the CIF Southern Section West Valley Division, it appears things could come down to the final game. But Brinkley said his team can’t afford to look past next week, when the Sailors play Marina at Westminster High. Marina has not won a league game since 2004.
“We’ve just got to win next week,” Brinkley said. “That’s all we’re going to think about. We’re just trying to improve every week. Our kids, hopefully they played as hard as they could. That’s all we ever ask of them. Sometimes you play as hard as you can and you end up at [Angel] Stadium, and sometimes you play as hard as you can and you get beat 49-0.”
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Los Alamitos 49, Newport Harbor 0
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LA 14 – 14 – 21 – 0 — 49
NH 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 — 0
FIRST QUARTER
LA – Gasser 88 pass from Edmondson (Gasser kick), 8:35.
LA – Gasser 21 pass from Telenko (Gasser kick), 1:57.
SECOND QUARTER
LA – Armstrong 1 run (Gasser kick), 8:15.
LA – Telenko 6 run (Gasser kick), 4:14.
THIRD QUARTER
LA – Gasser 57 pass from Telenko (Gasser kick), 10:38.
LA – Laurent 27 pass from Telenko (Gasser kick), 9:28.
LA – Laurent 66 punt return (Gasser kick), 7:03.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
LA – Whitehead, 7-58.
NH – Kinder, 27-111.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
LA – Telenko, 8-10-0, 186, 3 TDs.
NH – Bonds, 6-18-3, 34.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
LA – Gasser, 4-191, 3 TDs.
NH – Harding, 2-17.
