Sailors settle down, tame Tigers

Defense, passing game help Newport Harbor rally from 14-7 halftime deficit to claim 28-21 victory in CIF title clash.COSTA MESA -- Among the things the Newport Harbor High football team learned this season was that it can sometimes take time for things to come together.

So, just as the Sailors collected themselves for a dramatic final-minute comeback victory over Marina, and did the same after a two-game nonleague losing streak, they weren’t about to panic after only two quarters of the CIF Southern Section Division VI title game Saturday night.

The result was a commanding second half that produced a 28-21 triumph over visiting Valencia before 7,500 at Orange Coast College.

It was the third CIF Southern Section title for the Sailors (11-3), who also captured the Division V crown in 1994 and the Division VI championship in 1999.

“For whatever reason, we were just not playing like ourselves,” Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said of a 14-7 halftime deficit to the Tigers (12-2). “We weren’t taking the game to them and we just weren’t playing very well. The last thing I told them [at halftime] was to win the third quarter.”

The Sailors did that, producing two seven-play touchdown drives of 70 and 52 yards to take a 21-14 lead into the final quarter.

Newport Harbor, playing in its seventh title game in the last 14 seasons, also scored the first touchdown of the final quarter, then held off a valiant Valencia comeback attempt.

“I came out jumpy in the first half,” said Newport Harbor senior quarterback Tom Jackson, whose ability to make plays through the air and on the ground was catalytic for the Tars in the final 24 minutes. “At halftime, my teammates and the coaches told me not to play so tight. And Coach Brinkley opened up the play calling. He put his faith in us and we took over from there.”

Jackson, who was 3 of 10 passing for 26 yards in the opening half, connected on 7 of 9 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the final two quarters.

Jackson hit senior wideout James Coder for a 46-yard gain to the Valencia 21-yard line to key the hosts’ initial scoring drive of the third quarter.

Jackson and Coder also teamed up for a 12-yard pickup to the 9-yard line on the drive. On that play, Jackson flushed from the pocket, reset his feet and threw partially across his body to find Coder along the western sideline to create first-and-goal.

On the next snap, Jackson rolled right, cut up the center of the field and dodged a tackler at the 7 to score with 7:25 left in the third quarter.

Fernando Lara, who was good on all four conversion kicks, then tied the score and the Sailors had both confidence and momentum.

“We were a little timid in the first half,” Coder said. “I think we came out in the second half with a little swagger. I knew, as a senior, I had to step up.”

The Newport defense, which was riddled for 273 total yards by the Valencia offense in the first half, also stepped it up in the final two quarters.

The Sailors, who created a turnover that led to their lone first-half touchdown, held the Tigers to 40 yards on their first four second-half possessions, all of which ended in punts.

“They were blocking us up front,” Brinkley said of Valencia’s first-half success, which included two touchdowns within a span of 6:31 that turned a 7-0 Sailor lead into a 14-7 advantage for the Tigers.

Valencia went three-and-out after Jackson’s scoring run tied it and the Tars took over at their own 48-yard line.

After fullback Jack Tracy rumbled 18 yards on a trap play to the Valencia 34 on first down, three successive runs gained 9 yards, bringing up fourth-and-one.

Senior tailback Ryan Rippon gained 2 yards over the right side to move the chains and, two plays later, Jackson lofted a 21-yard strike to Daniel in the left corner of the end zone to give the hosts the lead for good.

Jackson finished 10 of 18 passing for 172 yards and three touchdowns, while Rippon -- who had been leading a dominant ground game in the Tars’ first three postseason victories -- wound up with 85 yards on 25 attempts.

“[The Sailors] hurt us throwing the ball,” Valencia Coach Mike Marrujo said. “We felt like we did a good job of stopping the run. We knew [the Sailors] could throw, but we didn’t expect their passing game to give us as many problems as it did.”

The Sailors created some problems for themselves when their third possession of the second half ended with a fumble that Valencia’s Josh Racobs recovered at the Tigers’ 37-yard line.

But the Sailors’ defense, which helped keep the first-half deficit down by producing a goal-line stand to end the first Valencia possession of the game, refused to buckle, once again.

The ensuing Newport Harbor drive included another fourth-down conversion, with Jackson throwing to Coder, who dragged his toe just inside the sideline while collecting a 13-yard pass at the Valencia 15 on fourth-and-nine.

Two plays after a pass interference penalty moved the ball to the 5, Newport Harbor, as it did to create open receivers all night, used play-action. With the Sailors’ backfield in the full house formation, Jackson faked a handoff, rolled to his right and found Delano McKenzie for a 2-yard touchdown with 5:39 left.

Valencia, however, wasn’t about to roll over. The Tigers marched 74 yards on six plays with the ensuing kickoff and senior quarterback Luis Cruz ran it in from 3 yards out for the capping touchdown.

Newport Harbor was forced to punt after the ensuing kickoff and Valencia took over at its own 22 with 2:05 remaining.

After three plays moved the ball to the Tigers’ 43, Cruz threw over the middle, intended for 6-foot-4 senior receiver Ray Magee. But Coder, who said he prepared for that route all week in practice, was there to intercept. He returned the ball 13 yards to the Newport Harbor 46 and the Sailors downed the ball twice to run out the clock and spark a jubilant celebration.

Coder finished with four receptions for 78 yards and Daniel produced 75 yards on his three receptions.

Senior tight end Nick Novotny, who had not caught a pass all season, fielded Jackson’s first touchdown toss, a 10-yard completion with 11:33 left in the second quarter to open the scoring.

That drive cashed in Billy Brown’s fumble recovery at the Tigers’ 10-yard line. Junior defensive end Mike Calabrese swatted the ball out of Cruz’s hands as the quarterback scrambled through the line, and Brown -- who had made the tackle on fourth down on the aforementioned goal-line stand -- put the Sailors in prime position.

After the Sailors opened the scoring, Valencia drove 80 yards on seven plays, with Alex Garcia finishing with the first of his two 1-yard touchdown runs.

Valencia moved 76 yards on eight plays on its next possession to take a 14-7 lead with 2:49 left before intermission.

Sophomore tailback Wes Fletcher rushed for 169 yards on 19 carries, including 148 yards on 15 attempts in the first half.

Cruz completed 16 of 27, for 177 yards, and Magee led the Valencia receivers with seven catches for 59 yards.

Fernando Lara intercepted a Cruz pass to end the first half, joining a host of defensive heroes for the winners.

Linebackers Nick Frazier and David Rosales, safeties Brett Green, Jackson and Coder, cornerbacks Lara and Keith Eldridge also contributed for Newport Harbor.

Ends Scott Andrews and Jayme Ohlhaver, tackle Ryan Uhl and noseguard McKenzie joined Calabrese on the defensive front.

“I think the defense was more aggressive in the second half,” Brinkley said.

Offensively, the Newport Harbor line of tackles Charles Schultz and Matt McCullough, guards Alex Flores and Billy Munce, and center Lou Truxton, helped protect Jackson, especially in the second half.

Brown also caught one pass and, along with Tracy, aided the blocking effort.

“I wasn’t that productive tonight, but we had a lot of people step up in the second half,” said Rippon, who had produced a whopping 919 rushing yards in the four games previous to the final.

“We threw the ball more,” Brinkley said of the final two quarters. “You have to throw it to win, sometimes. We didn’t want to just sit on our thumbs and try to pound it all night.”

Jackson said the victory helped erase memories of last season’s 35-6 title-game loss to Orange Lutheran. It also capped a season of ups and downs.