Tars’ defense sets tone early

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - It is a football rivalry almost four decades old,

but no history lesson was necessary for Newport Harbor High’s defense in

preparation for Friday night’s Back Bay encounter with Corona del Mar.

With defensive gems coming from every direction, the Sailors pushed

around the Sea Kings and won convincingly over their cross-town rival for

the fourth time in five years.

“In our first defensive series of the game, we stuffed them ... we

just shut them down completely,” Newport Harbor defensive tackle Nick

Moghaddam said of the game’s tone-setting series.

Aside from a CdM touchdown in the waning moments of Battle of the Bay

XXXIX, the Sailors recorded a shutout with their first string on the

field.

Sailor defenders were everywhere. And it started as soon as Corona del

Mar quarterback Joe Barber took his first snap from center Adam Dunn.

The Sea Kings were stopped on back-to-back lateral passes, one for no

gain, the other for a loss, then Newport Harbor defensive end Garrett

Troncale sacked Barber for a 6-yard loss, forcing CdM’s Rory McKeever to

punt before many Corona del Mar fans had their soda and popcorn.

“I think that first series definitely set the tone for the game,”

Newport Harbor defensive end Ian Banigan said.

The Tars scored on their first offensive drive, then the defense shut

down the Sea Kings again and Newport Harbor’s offense responded with

another touchdown early in the second quarter.

“We knew (the Sea Kings) were going to throw the ball with their two

quarterbacks (Barber and Dylan Hendy), and we knew their running back

(Blake Hacker) could run, so we knew we had to come out and play

defense,” said Newport Harbor cornerback Brian Gaeta, who had two of his

team’s three interceptions, the other turned in by outside linebacker

Chris Manderino in the second quarter.

“Defense is definitely a key factor to this team this year.”

Newport Harbor middle linebacker Alan Saenz (6-foot-2, 260 pounds),

one of the defensive captains, helped on several road-blocking stops,

including an open-field tackle on Hacker on a screen play.

In addition to Troncale’s sack, Moghaddam, a 6-4, 260-pounder and a

standout on Newport Harbor’s CIF Southern Section Division VI

championship team a year ago, provided another on the first play of the

fourth quarter, dropping Hendy for an 8-yard loss.

On the next play, CdM fumbled and Saenz recovered for the Sailors,

setting up Newport Harbor’s final touchdown in a much-ballyhooed game

that was played, at times, in a heavy mist at Newport Harbor and before

an estimated 5,100 spectators.

“We just played our basic defense. Our goal was to stop the run, and

we stopped them,” said Moghaddam, who helped the Tars limit Corona del

Mar to 74 yards rushing on 18 carries, while forcing four turnovers.

“(The Sea Kings) played us as hard as they could, but we wanted to

play harder then them for four quarters. That was our goal.”

Newport Harbor, which controlled the ball for almost the entire first

quarter, thanks to its defense and rushing attack, treated CdM’s

next-in-line quarterback rudely in the second quarter, when Manderino

picked off Hendy’s pass at midfield and delivered the goods an extra

eight yards to the CdM 42.

The interception set up another Newport Harbor touchdown, its fourth

in four turns with the ball.

But, even with a 21-0 halftime lead, there was no quit in the Sailors’

defense.

“In the third quarter, our coach started talking about coming out hard

and playing Newport football,” Moghaddam said. “We wanted to keep

stopping them in the second half, and we knew our offense would punch it

in. This is what we expected, to beat them, but not this bad.”

Noseguard Joe Foley, outside ‘backer Andy Rankin and three others in

the secondary, Ryan Spruth, David Sprenger and Dane Barton, were large

factors in Newport’s defensive show.

“I think our defense is a championship defense, plain and simple,”

Moghaddam added. “We have good players who can really play the game. And

we just play our game and keep on winning.

“Our defense took it up to another level tonight, and this is how we

want to play the rest of the season. I expect nothing less than 14 weeks

of football this year from this team. I know how it feels, and we’ve got

the hunger to go back.”

Added Banigan: “We played hard from the first play of the game all the

way to the last play. We just kept it going.”

CdM Coach Dick Freeman said this year’s Newport Harbor defense has the

best front seven his team will see this season. Additionally, “you’re not

going to find two better ends and they have three really good

linebackers.”