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Harbor stays perfect

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Patrick Laverty

DANA POINT -- With a playmaker like Spencer Link at his disposal,

Newport Harbor football coach Jeff Brinkley is sure to continue to

find new ways to get the ball into the hands of his junior wide

receiver as the season unfolds.

But while Link continues to light up the scoreboard and the stat

sheet, the Sailors continue to prove they are much more than a

one-man show.

Link scored two touchdowns, as did senior running back Matt

Encinias, as Newport Harbor opened a season 4-0 for the first time

since 1998 with a 36-6 victory over Dana Hills Friday.

It is the ninth time the Sailors have begun the season 4-0 in

Brinkley’s 18 seasons at Newport Harbor. The victory over the

Dolphins (1-3) continued Newport’s domination in the series. The

Sailors have won all four meetings between the schools, each by at

least 17 points.

Link, who scampered around the field all night long on his way to

147 yards receiving and 69 yards rushing, scored the first of his two

touchdowns on a 17-yard pass from junior quarterback Kasey Peters

less than three minutes into the second quarter, giving Harbor a 21-0

lead. The score was vintage Link as the 5-foot-9, 171-pounder plowed through three defenders for the final 4 yards of the play.

But the backbreaker came on the opening snap of the second half.

Instead of waiting to put the game away, Brinkley sent Link on a

fly pattern on the first play.

“That was really cool for us to start like that,” Peters said.

Link outran a pair of Dana Hills defenders, Peters lofted the ball

40 yards downfield and Link then ran another 40 yards after the catch

for an 80-yard touchdown and a 28-0 Newport Harbor lead just 11

seconds after halftime.

“On that play, I just throw the ball as far as I can,” Peters

said. “I know I can’t out throw him because he’s so fast.”

Link’s not the only fast runner on the Sailors though and any

defense that chooses to solely concentrate on him is sure to be

frustrated by Encinias.

The senior tailback gained 119 yards on just 16 carries, an

average of 7.4 yards per carry. His 13-yard touchdown in the first

quarter, after Ryan Rippon had recovered a fumble in Dolphins

territory, started the scoring.

He added a 29-yard touchdown on a draw play on third-and-15 with

6:06 remaining in the game.

Encinias has rushed for more than 100 yards in three of four games

this season.

Backing up Link and Encinias are Peters, who continues to grow as

a quarterback, and a defense that has allowed just four touchdowns in

four games.

The defense missed out on a shutout, but Brinkley was still happy

with their containment of Dana Hills’ option attack.

“We played good defense,” Brinkley said. “We’re just trying to win

football games. If the other things happen, that’s just icing on the

cake.”

Newport Harbor played without linebacker Greg Miner (hamstring)

and cornerback Matt Erickson (collarbone). Taylor Young moved to

linebacker from the secondary and Brian Campos started in place of

Erickson.

Strong performances on the defense were turned in by linebacker

Thomas Martin, who also scored on a two-point conversion run after

Encinias’ second touchdown, and Alex Orth, whose first-quarter fumble

recovery led to a 10-yard touchdown pass from Peters to Theriot.

That pass was set up perfectly by Peters’ play-action fakes and

Newport Harbor’s continual use of Link.

The Sailors had thrown a pair of swing passes to Link already,

both of which went as rushing gains for Link because they were

lateral passes. The junior receiver had gained 37 yards on those two

plays and the Dolphins players were conscious of his every movement.

On Theriot’s touchdown reception, Link went in motion. Peters

first faked a handoff to Encinias, running up the middle, then faked

the reverse to Link. Dana Hills’ defense bit on the fakes and Theriot

was wide open for an easy pass from Peters.

The junior quarterback finished 8 of 14 for 162 yards and three

touchdowns. He has now thrown eight touchdowns in four games, seven

of them to Link. More importantly, Peters has yet to throw an

interception.

The combined efforts of Link, Encinias, Peters and the defense,

combined with another strong performance by the Sailors’ offensive

line, have put them in a position to finish the nonleague portion of

their schedule undefeated. Newport Harbor has a meeting against

Paramount Friday as its final tuneup before Sea View League play.

“There’s still things that can happen,” Brinkley said. “There’s

still things that we need to take care of. We’re getting penalized

more than we would like to. But there’s sign of us playing well and

being a good football team.”

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