Newport Harbor Football Preview vs. Marina
Newport Harbor (3-5, 1-2) vs. Marina (1-7, 0-3)
When/where: Friday, 7 p.m. at Westminster High
Key Sailors: Jr. RB Cole Kinder (174 carries for 915 yards and six TDs); Jr. LB Gage Roberson; Jr. QB Michael Bonds (109 of 199 passing for 1,214 yards, eight TDs and eight INTs); Sr. DL Max Durante
Key Vikings: Sr. QB Anthony De La Torre; Jr. RB Cooper Malerstein; Soph. RB Blaine Riederich; Jr. WR Noah Holmes
Breakdown: Newport Harbor, which shares third place in league, is in a must-win situation if it plans to keep its CIF Southern Section West Valley Division playoff hopes alive … Marina has lost 54 straight games in Sunset League action … Sailors are coming off a 49-0 setback to Los Alamitos, their first scoreless outing in league in three years … Vikings lost to Fountain Valley, 49-7, last week … Newport Harbor last failed to reach the playoffs in 2008, missing the postseason for only the sixth time under Coach Jeff Brinkley, who’s in his 30th season in charge of the Sailors … Marina’s lone win this year came against Ocean View, a Southern Division program, on Sept. 4 … Sailors have won twice on the road this year, 33-21, against Pico Rivera El Rancho on Sept. 11 and 33-27 in overtime against Huntington Beach on Oct. 16 … Vikings’ previous win against Newport Harbor was in 2000.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza