Paramount release draws raves

Barry Faulkner

After another of their six Thursday night regular-season games,

the Newport Harbor High football team used Friday to attend a film

premier of the Sailors’ 49-12 victory over Paramount.

And one scene, in particular, had already created quite a buzz

among the players as they assembled to review the videotape.

“I think the players were anxious to see it the next day,” Newport

Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said of cornerback Ben Soza’s violent

collision with a Paramount receiver on a short pass midway through

the second quarter.

The hit, on which Soza appeared to strike Paramount’s Oscar

Mercado on the breast plate, just has Mercado turned back toward the

line of scrimmage, leveled the Pirate receiver and jarred the ball

loose for a fumble. Safety Warren Junowich finished off the scoop and

score with a 34-yard return that built the Sailors’ lead to 42-0.

It was the kind of hit that, Brinkley believes, can have

repercussions for more than just the victim.

“I think it gives (Soza) more confidence and I think it should

give the entire secondary confidence in our system,” Brinkley said.

“The way we played the route, a flat-slant route, we were in position

to intercept the slant if they had thrown it. Instead, he went to the

flat and we made something good happen.”

Soza, describing the play afterward, said he was simply doing his

job.

“I saw (Mercado) in the flat and I just tried to make sure he

didn’t catch it,” Soza said.

The dynamic display of quick momentum change was but one example

of how the Newport defense set up its offense for early success

against the Pirates.

Outside linebacker Matt Encinias recovered a fumble on the first

play from scrimmage at the Paramount 23 to set up Harbor’s first

touchdown.

Tackle Chase Brawner punched the ball out while tacking a ball

carrier from behind three plays into Paramount’s second possession

and Junowich made the recovery to set up a 30-yard touchdown drive

that required only three plays.

The three first-half fumble recoveries helped push the Sailors

back into the plus column in turnover ratio. They now have two more

take-aways than their first five opponents, which Brinkley hopes is a

trend that continues as Newport (4-1), ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern

Section Division VI and No. 9 in Orange County, opens Sea View League

play with a Friday home game against Aliso Niguel (2-3).

“The (opponent’s) turnovers were good to see,” Brinkley said.

“We’re going to need turnovers to be successful, especially the ones

we can score on, or, at least, create opportunities to score.”

Harbor’s offense proved opportunistic against Paramount, producing

touchdowns the first five times it touched the ball, before Junowich,

with Soza’s help, bypassed the offense entirely on the way to the end

zone for the aforementioned finalizer.

It marked the fourth straight game, all Sailor victories, in which

the Tars had turned an opponent’s turnover into points. The Sailors

cashed in a fumble recovery for a touchdown against Dana Hills,

against which they also produced a safety by tackling the quarterback

in the end zone.

In Week 3 against Corona del Mar, a fumble recovery set up a

touchdown drive, while a fumble recovery against Marina in Week 2

helped lead to a field goal.

The Sailors’ quick-strike capability against Paramount (0-5)

produced a 28-point first quarter, the Tars’ most productive

one-quarter output since posting 28 points in the second quarter of

the 1999 nonleague season opener against Orange.

The 42-points in the first half was the most in a half for the

Sailors since they scored 43 before intermission against Orange in

the 1998 opener, en route to a school single-game record 70 points.

The victory also extended some streaks for the Sailors, who have

now won four straight and six straight at home. Harbor has also won

at least four preleague games for seven straight seasons and, since

the 1996 season opener, is 46-4-2 against teams not in the Sea View

League.