Sailors’ setback painful

LAKEWOOD — Something happened to the Newport Harbor High football team Friday night that rarely occurs for the Sailors in the playoffs.

“Sometimes you’re out-manned,” Coach Jeff Brinkley said after his Sailors lost at No. 4-seeded Lakewood, 41-17, in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs.

Before the Sailors stepped on the field and made their first postseason appearance in two years, they were hurting.

Starting tailback Cedric Whitaker was out with a knee injury. Backup Drew Diller was sidelined again.

Despite the setbacks on offense, Newport Harbor took a 10-0 lead in the first two minutes against the team ranked No. 6 in the state by CalHiSports.com. Buzzy Yokoyama returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and Dillan Freiberg converted a 34-yard field goal.

The lead was short-lived. The Lancers (10-1) scored the next three touchdowns and took an 11-point lead.

Newport Harbor cut the deficit to 21-17 before halftime after Kellon Truxton’s miraculous 35-yard touchdown reception. The junior wide receiver was at the right place at the right time on an underthrown ball.

Quarterback Austin Rios wasn’t so fortunate after his tipped pass went 35 yards for a touchdown.

The Sailors (6-5) lost Rios for the rest of the game to a dislocated shoulder. With the junior injuring his left non-throwing shoulder, Newport Harbor lost yet another starter on offense.

At this time of the year, Brinkley understood the ramifications. In the next 24 minutes, his team was in a huge hole with sophomores at quarterback and running back.

“When you play a team like [the Lancers], they’re so athletic and they have a lot of depth, you got to go at them at full strength,” Brinkley said.

The Lancers shut down Newport Harbor in the second half and rode running backs Terrance Woods and Rashad Wadood to the quarterfinals, where they will face Bishop Amat. Woods and Wadood combined to rush for 168 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries.

While Woods and Wadood picked up first downs, it took the Sailors almost 14 minutes to move the chains for the first time in the second half.

By then, the Moore League champion Lancers were on their way to their 10th straight victory.

Lakewood scored two touchdowns on their first two possessions in the second half. The one that stung Sailors the most was the first one, a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ate almost eight minutes off the clock in the third quarter.

The drive appeared to be halted on the fourth play, with the Sailors most likely getting the ball back.

Newport Harbor stuffed Lakewood’s ground game on first and second down, losses going for one and four yards, respectively. The second one behind the line of scrimmage on Woods was aided by a facemask.

Instead of the Lancers faced with a third-and-15 from their own 30, a 15-yard facemask penalty moved the ball to the 45. With one yard to go for a first down, USC-bound quarterback Jesse Scroggins picked it up by himself.

The Lancers pretty much went on to pound their way into the end zone, giving it to Woods and then Wadood. Inside the red zone, they went to Wadood.

After running at the Sailors and past them, Wadood decided to leap over the defense for a one-yard touchdown, giving Lakewood a 27-17 lead with 3:57 left in the third.

“Hopefully our young guys learned a lot from tonight, going to the playoffs, and seeing what it’s like to play big-time Division I football,” Brinkley said. “The one more score [with 49 seconds left] is a little salt in the wound.”

The 41 points were the most given up in a playoff game in Brinkley’s 24 years at Newport Harbor.

Lakewood 41, Newport Harbor 17

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Newport Harbor 10-7-0-0--17

Lakewood 7-14-6-14--41

FIRST QUARTER

NH – Yokoyama 96 kickoff return (Freiberg kick), 11:42.

NH – Freiberg 34 FG, 10:05.

Lak – Woods 1 run (Harpham kick), 4:24.

SECOND QUARTER

Lak – Powe 70 punt return (Harpham kick), 9:31.

Lak – Scroggins 2 run (Harpham kick), 5:57.

NH – Truxton 35 pass from Rios (Freiberg kick), 2:49.

THIRD QUARTER

Lak – Wadood 1 run (kick failed), 3:57.

FOURTH QUARTER

Lak – Utupo 5 pass from Scroggins (Harpham kick), 9:59.

Lak – Woods 32 run (Harpham kick), 0:49.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

NH – Swies, 10-42, ; Andrews, 2-11; Gomez, 8-5.

Lak – Woods, 16-101, 2 TDs; Wadood, 13-67, 1 TD; Long 5-25; Scroggins, 9-25.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

NH – Rios, 6-11-0, 81, 1 TD; Blower, 1-3-0, 18.

Lak – Scroggins, 16-20-0, 234, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

NH – Truxton, 2-54, 1 TD; Whiteside, 2-36; Aqueveque, 1-6; Norton, 2-3.

Lak – Anderson, 6-117; Davis, 5-70; Long, 2-26; Lewis, 2-16; Utupo, 1-5, 1 TD.