Giddings’ gamble paid off

Elevated to the head coaching job at Newport Harbor High in 1982 in

an attempt to right a ship which had been on course to rival the

Titanic’s destination in a three-year spiral, veteran football coach

Mike Giddings saw his first team lose its first two games. But in

reality, it was but the setup for a breakthrough season.

And in a critical Sea View League duel with Saddleback High’s

Roadrunners, he threw the dice with a two-point attempt, and lost --

but not really.

Fans and players were sick of ties -- the 1979 team was stalemated

three times, and in ’80 and ’81 the point was rather moot as

evidenced by lopsided losses in 3-7 and 1-9 records. Sixteen of

Newport’s 21 losses in that three-year span were by double figures.

So when Giddings was faced with a one-point deficit late in the

Saddleback game there was no question in his mind: The Sailors,

trailing, 21-10, were going for it. It didn’t work, but you would

never have known it judging by the ensuing reaction.

“The parents and kids loved it, even though we lost,” said the

71-year-old Giddings, presently a resident of Murrieta, as he

reflected on his four-year tour as the Tars’ coach.

Giddings, with multiple layers of coaching experience ranging from

the preps to the pros, and guiding the Tars as a “walk-on” coach, was

known for his fiery style, quick temper and bold decisions. Settling

for ties was just not his style.

Faced with a distinct lack of depth in the sophomore class, he

elevated several sophomores to the varsity roster and did away with

the sophomore team (to the chagrin of the rest of the Sea View

League).

Among that first squad were tackles David Cadigan, Mike Beech and

Steve Moses, guards Brett Kacura, Frank Roa and Brett Hagadorn,

center Pat Williams, tight ends Joey James and Greg Jacobs, as well

as wideouts Gil Ward, Rich Power and Herbie Goss. The backfield had

Mike Wells and Bruce Goodfield sharing duty at quarterback with the

likes of junior Steve Brazas, sophomore Fritz Howser, Long Truong and

Jeff Nugent in running roles.

They put together a product which would rack up 285 points and

gain a berth in the second round of the CIF Central Conference

playoffs, easily outscoring the three previous Newport Harbor teams

combined.

It was the same story defensively with Roa and Kacura in the

trenches, Brazas at middle linebacker and the Truongs, Long and Ho,

in the secondary, leading the way.

Also with major contributions were Tom Kitchens and Moses up

front, linebackers John Stockham, Darren Esslinger and Mark Parry,

with Jeff Conover and Bill Perry in the secondary.

Marina High’s Vikings got a 37-yard field goal with 0:04 left on

the clock to edge the Sailors in the season opener, 10-8, and Cypress

followed with a 16-3 conquest. But Giddings wasn’t reaching for any

panic buttons.

“The Cypress game showed me we could play football on Friday

nights,” said Giddings. “It was a real eye-opener. I found out who

could play. After that, we were tough to beat.”

Roa, a junior, led a defensive effort with 11 tackles in the Tars’

10-3 nonleague win over Westminster.

That win set up the league opener with El Toro. Giddings, with a

long history on the defensive side of the game, laid out the plans.

Bucko Shaw called most of the defensive sets and, in his inimitable

style, celebrated the first conquest in the Giddings era.

A 92-yard interception return by Brazas was the back-breaker in a

17-7 upset victory over El Toro.

Cadigan and Coberly were badly injured on the same play in the El

Toro game, and Giddings still remembers the scene at Hoag Hospital

where a local orthopedist, Glen Almquist, played such a key role with

a second opinion on Cadigan’s injury.

They wanted to operate on Cadigan, but Almquist, who had played

for Red Sanders at UCLA, disagreed, and he was right. Cadigan, a

first-round draft choice in the NFL after a sterling career at USC,

was back on the field in four weeks.

“Cadigan played nine years in the NFL because of Glen Almquist,”

Giddings said.

El Toro? The Chargers would shake off their loss to the Tars and

go on to win the CIF crown.

Brazas scored three touchdowns in a 48-0 win over University,

which led to the big letdown.

“I couldn’t convince our team that we weren’t that good,” Giddings

recalled of his team’s preparation before the Sailors’ 24-21 loss at

Irvine. “We stunk up the joint. We just didn’t execute.”

In the aftermath, Giddings offered the following quote: “You can

say I’m as mad as I’ve ever been in my life.”

Many find it a humorous comment inasmuch as he has probably made

the same exclamation dozens of times over his long career. And I can

verify that it’s not limited to just his football teams.

So how did the Sailors bounce back from the loss to Irvine?

Estancia jumped to a 17-0 lead in the next game.

“I remember walking out on the field and I just reamed our

defense,” Giddings said.

He must have hit a nerve because the Sailors bounced back to win,

45-17.

Saddleback High’s speedy Roadrunners were next and they ran up a

21-0 lead before the Sailors made a game of it.

With 1:58 left, Long Truong scored on a screen pass from Wells to

pare the deficit to 21-20, and Giddings went for two.

“We were going to go behind Cadigan, but we lined up and took a

look and called timeout,” Giddings said.

The Tars decided to run to the left after seeing how Saddleback

had lined up with a double-team over Cadigan on the right and, as

Giddings explains: “A couple of guys missed their blocks.”

In the aftermath, no one was mad. There were no second-guessers.

Except, of course, Giddings, who is still haunted by his decision not

to run behind Cadigan.

The Sailors clinched a tie for third place in league with a 26-7

win over Costa Mesa. Brazas scored three TDs.

Three more TDs by Brazas led to a 21-7 victory in the Battle of

the Bay against Corona del Mar as the Tars often turned to an

unbalanced offensive front, shifting Cadigan (275 pounds) to the left

to line up next to Beech (265) at left tackle.

Corona didn’t cover the shift and Brazas ran right over Cadigan’s

block en route to a 32-yard scoring play to snap a 7-7 tie in the

annual emotional struggle between the two rivals.

So the Sailors returned to the CIF playoffs for the first time in

four years and they took their hopes on the road against Norwalk,

where a coach named Jeff Brinkley saw his team eliminated by the

Tars, 55-6.

Brazas scored five touchdowns and it was 55-0 after three

quarters.

Four years later, Brinkley would succeed Giddings at Harbor,

beginning a reign which is now approaching 20 years.

A week later, the dream was snapped as eventual finalist Fullerton

dealt the Sailors a 17-13 loss.

“One play stands out in that game,” Giddings said. “Fullerton

faked a draw and ran a screen.”

Not many were second-guessing Giddings in that first year at the

helm, except for the perfectionist.

Harbor finished with more wins than the previous three teams

combined with a 7-5 record, but what had most Sailors fans feeling

good were just two words: “Next year.”

Kacura (first team) and Brazas (second team) were All-Orange

County choices, but in terms of honors, Giddings’ best memory was

when he attended the all-league meeting with his peers.

“The first thing they asked me was ‘Where do you want 58? Offense

or defense?” Giddings fondly recalled.

They were referring to the jersey number of Kacura, who was so

dominant on both sides of the line.

* ROGER CARLSON is the former sports editor for the Daily Pilot.

He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].