Sailors lose Peters for season

Patrick Laverty

After losing its first two Sea View League games, Newport Harbor

High’s football team will have to regroup if it hopes to make the CIF

Southern Section Division VI playoffs. And, the Sailors will have to

do it shorthanded.

Junior quarterback Kasey Peters will be out a minimum of six weeks

after breaking his collarbone in the fourth quarter of Harbor’s 23-19

loss to Aliso Niguel Friday.

“I feel sorry for Kasey,” Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said.

“The guy has worked so hard. It’s unfortunate for a guy to miss out

on a big portion of his junior year after he has worked so hard.”

Already without backup Michael Green, who suffered a concussion

last week in practice and is out for two weeks, the Sailors will turn

things over to sophomore Tom Jackson, who played the final 1:36

Friday, completing 3 of 6 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.

“He had a tough situation to step into and he did a nice job under

tough circumstances,” Brinkley said.

The situation would get even tougher for the Sailors (5-2, 0-2 in

the Sea View League) if Jackson (6-foot, 152 pounds) were to go down

and he’ll be playing behind an undermanned offensive line. Senior

left guard Eric Curtis is doubtful for Friday’s game against Irvine

because of an ankle injury. Guard Stephen Joslin, who missed Friday’s

game with a high ankle sprain, is questionable, though Brinkley is

hopeful Joslin can return.

Without another quarterback on the roster, Brinkley said Harbor

will be forced to get creative in practice this week, with Matt

Encinias likely taking some snaps.

Whether at backup quarterback or at his customary tailback

position, Encinias will likely carry a much larger load without

Peters on the field. Encinias is coming off his best game of the

season, having rushed for 203 yards.

“Matt played very courageously,” Brinkley said. “He was one of the

guys I thought really left it all on the field. He played a great

game. He did everything he had to do.”

His opportunity to take some snaps as the backup quarterback in

practice this week could be limited by the weather conditions caused

by the smoke from the fires that are raging in San Bernardino and

Rancho Cucamonga. Teams throughout the area could be forced to make

alternative arrangements because of unhealthful conditions.

“We may have to take it a little easy,” Brinkley said. “If it’s

real ashy or smoky, we’ll back off a little bit.”

With Harbor two games behind league leaders Foothill, Irvine and

Aliso Niguel, the Sailors can’t afford backing off too much this week

because opponents aren’t likely to let up despite Newport’s record in

league.

“Everybody circles us on the calendar, like I told the kids,”

Brinkley said. “I don’t think we’re going to sneak up on anybody. And

with the weapons we’ve lost, it makes it that much more challenging.”

* CORONA DEL MAR: The Sea Kings are finally fully healthy, but,

heading into their biggest game of the season, the status of

sophomore inside linebacker Shaun Mohler is in question.

Mohler, one of the Sea Kings’ top defensive players, was ejected

from Friday’s victory over Calvary Chapel for drawing two

unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which by rule, would result in a

one-game suspension. But CdM Coach Dick Freeman said one of the fouls

was called on linebacker Tyler Lance, not Mohler, and plans to

contact the CIF Southern Section office this week in an attempt to

reverse the suspension against Mohler.

“They said he had two personal fouls but there were only two

personal fouls in the game,” Freeman said. “One was on Lance, who

retaliated against a guy laying on top of him. The flag nearly hit

Lance, so there was no question it was on him.”

Freeman is confident Mohler will be allowed to play and, despite a

rash of minor injuries, that would put Corona del Mar (5-2, 2-0 in

the Pacific Coast League) at full strength for the first time this

season when it battles Northwood (6-1, 2-0) Thursday at Irvine High.

Both teams are tied for first place with Tesoro (5-2, 2-0) in league.

Running backs Wess Presson and Austin Brawner, quarterback Tom

Welch and receiver Kevin Welch are all nursing minor injuries, but

Freeman doesn’t expect any of them to be limited against Northwood.

And, for the first time this season, Corona del Mar has a healthy

stable of lineman. Senior Andy Lujan, who missed a pair of games with

a high ankle sprain, returned to action Friday.

Freeman will not be forced to play linemen on both sides of the

ball because of the depth and the strong play of guard J.R. Saroyan

and tackle Sean Ellis. Both players have played well in recent games,

earning themselves more playing time. That will allow junior Andrew

Keligian to play primarily on defense, while splitting time at center

with Brent Ogden.

Presson and Tom Welch are both dealing with shoulder injuries,

but, despite soreness, are expected to play. Welch, though, may not

play defense as he did earlier this season.

Brawner experienced pain in his back last week and did not play

offense against Calvary Chapel and was limited on defense as well.

Kevin Welch, still recovering from a groin injury, felt good after

Friday’s game, Freeman said.

All four players may have a bit more time to heal this week

because of what Freeman expects to be limited practices because of

the smoke and ashes.

“This is the worst weather we’ve ever seen,” Freeman said. “I’ve

got a feeling we’re going to have to [make alternate plans]. It’s

like it’s snowing over here.”

If CdM can’t practice outside, Freeman is hopeful that his team

will be able to work out in the gym. But no matter the practice

schedule, he doesn’t expect any negative effects come game time.

“It’s like rain. If you let it bother you, it bothers you. If you

don’t, it doesn’t,” Freeman said.

* COSTA MESA: Mustangs Coach Dave Perkins is quite sure practice

will be curtailed quite a bit because of the smoke from the fires

this week, but when the Mustangs take the field Thursday against

Estancia at Orange Coast College, there isn’t likely to be much held

back.

“We were talking the other day, ‘Who wants to win this game more?

The coaches or the players?’ ” Perkins said. “We all want to play

well. I think if we play well, we’ll be in it at the end.”

Costa Mesa (4-3, 1-2 in the Golden West League) has stumbled of

late, including Thursday’s loss to Orange. But the Battle for the

Bell against the Eagles (3-4, 1-3) usually brings out the Mustangs’

best.

In the two games Perkins has coached against his former team,

which he led from 1998-2000, Mesa has won by a combined score of

62-6.

This year’s game takes on extra importance because the Mustangs

need to win their final three games to maintain hope of securing a

guaranteed CIF Southern Section Division VII playoff berth.

They could use a little help in that effort and will be actively

rooting for Saddleback (3-4, 2-1) to defeat Westminster (6-1, 3-0)

Friday. Westminster also has games against Costa Mesa and Orange

(6-1, 4-0) remaining. The Mustangs best chance for an automatic berth

would be for Westminster to lose its final three games and Mesa to

win all three.

“Oh, I think we [root for Saddleback],” Perkins said. “A

Westminster loss would put us in a good position if we can win our

last three games. We did a good job of focusing on Orange and not

looking ahead to Estancia and the Battle for the Bell. Now, we have

to focus on Estancia.”

The Eagles present a more difficult challenge compared to the past

two seasons, when they combined for a 1-18 record.

* ESTANCIA: First-year coach Craig Fertig has to be happy with his

team’s ability to overcome those early deficits, but, after beginning

the season with a pair of victories, the Eagles have lost four of

five games. The latest loss, Friday against Santa Ana, came after the

Eagles had rallied from 19 points down to take a one-point lead with

8:40 remaining.

It was the second straight game in which Estancia (3-4, 1-3 in the

Golden West League) lost a second-half lead. The Eagles had a 16-10

advantage over Westminster at the end of three quarters in Week 6.

“We just can’t get over the hump,” Fertig said. “I was real proud

of the way we came back. But we just can’t seem to hold a lead.”

Things don’t get much easier in the final three weeks for

Estancia. The Eagles close out the season with crosstown rival Costa

Mesa (4-3, 1-2), league favorite Orange (6-1, 4-0) and Pacifica

(4-3), a CIF Southern Section Division IX finalist last season.

Estancia will be looking for its first win over Costa Mesa since

2000, when Mustangs Coach Dave Perkins led the Eagles. Estancia leads

the series, 20-15.

Senior fullback Mike Cahill left Friday’s game in the fourth

quarter wit an ankle injury and his status for this week’s game is

undetermined. Offensive and defensive lineman Gary Strawn is also

questionable after he suffered a shoulder injury Friday.

* SAGE HILL: Braden Ross, only a freshman, took over at

quarterback at the start of the season for the Lightning. He had his

best passing game yet, throwing for 201 yards Friday against Sherman

Indian. But with the return of athletic sophomore Keya Manshadi, Sage

Hill Coach Tom Monarch has a few more options and he plans to use

them with the opening of Academy League play Thursday against St.

Margaret’s.

With Ross’ recent success in the passing game and the return of

Manshadi, Monarch wants to spread the field with three receivers,

also using senior Eddie Huang and junior Alex Samel as targets for

Ross.

“[Ross is] really passing well,” Monarch said. “We made some

freshman mistakes [Friday], just freshman decisions. But what a

phenomenal game for him to have.”