Video review sometimes torturous
First comes the devastation, then the dissection. Sometimes, the
latter can be more excruciating than the former for high school
football coaches, who seldom wait 24 hours to pick through the
videotape remains of their latest loss.
For Newport Harbor High Coach Jeff Brinkley, this meant scanning
the images of Friday’s 23-20 nonleague overtime setback to visiting
Mira Costa.
In the process, a handful of potentially game-changing plays
emerged.
“You torture yourself with a lot of thoughts about a lot of
different things,” Brinkley said.
Among those would be the events surrounding a key play early in
the fourth quarter, when the Sailors inadvertently snapped the ball
on fourth-and-inches from their own 15-yard line when they were
trying to draw the Mustangs offside with a hard count.
Brinkley said the reason for the miscue was that the signals being
called mistakenly included a word that triggers an audible. Brinkley
said a handful of players reacted as if the audible had been called,
when, in reality, it was simply a mistaken cadence. Among those who
reacted to the audible was the center, Brinkley said.
More key plays involved the kicking game, as the Sailors, playing
without starting kicker Travis Duffield, missed one conversion kick,
had another blocked, then missed a 24-yard field goal attempt that
would have tied it in overtime.
Brinkley said two kickers were used, but the backup that received
the work on PATs in practice was not the one who attempted the
overtime field goal.
“I told the kids afterward in the locker room that [the missed
field goal] was my fault, because I didn’t give [the overtime kicker]
any work in practice,” Brinkley said.
Regardless of the circumstances, the Sailors are dealing with
their second straight loss. It is the first time since 1995 they have
dropped two straight preleague games.
There were, however, several positives that came out of a
near-upset of Mira Costa (5-0), ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section
Division III.
The most obvious was the return of senior tailback Ryan Rippon,
who lifted the Sailor rooters and, arguably, the entire program, when
he bolted up the middle and bounced outside for a 50-yard run on his
second carry Friday.
Rippon, back from reconstructive knee surgery, finished with 102
yards on 19 carries and also caught two passes for 25 yards.
Another bright spot was the touchdown drive in the closing minutes
of regulation to force overtime.
Still another was that the Sailors not only gained more rushing
yards than the Mustangs (142-130), but also produced more through the
air (208-177).
“We outrushed them and outpassed them,” said Brinkley, who was
pleased with the effort his team exhibited.
“I think we found the difference between playing with effort
[against Mira Costa] and with less then our best effort [in an Sept.
30 loss at Dana Hills].”
The Sailors (3-2) will get a fresh start as they open defense of
their Sea View League title Friday at home against Woodbridge (0-5).
Sage Hill School produced the lone victory among Newport-Mesa
teams Thursday and Friday, as Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa and Estancia
were all dealt league defeats.
Here is a look back at those contests.
* SAGE HILL: While the running game has frequently fueled the Sage
Hill offense, sophomore quarterback Jamie McGee stepped to center
stage in the Lightning’s 47-6 nonleague victory over visiting Twin
Pines Friday night.
McGee completed 16 of 25 for 236 yards with three touchdowns and
no interceptions. He also ran for a 7-yard score as the Lightning
improved to 5-0.
Sage Coach Tom Monarch said he has been trying all season to
implement more of a passing game for when Academy League play rolls
around.
“I’m more concerned with having a successful passing attack in
league,” Monarch said. “If we’re one-dimensional, it’s easy to play
defense. Our goal is to make defenses spread out. We want them to
appreciate our running and passing games.”
Monarch said the timing in the passing game stood out most against
Twin Pines (1-4). But, he added, it’s not quite perfect yet.
“We’re about 80% there,” he said. “We just need to hit the
receivers a little more on the run.”
Senior receiver Zach Milder was McGee’s favorite target Friday,
hauling in six catches for 133 yards and two TDs. Senior tailback
Keya Manshadi caught the other touchdown pass.
And the running game was present, as usual. Junior fullback Don
Ayres rushed for 65 yards and a pair of scores, while Manshadi ran
for 32 yards and a TD.
Sage visits Silver Valley (0-5) at 7 p.m. Friday in its last
nonleague contest.
After a bye week, the Lightning play host to Brethren Christian
Oct. 28.
* CORONA DEL MAR: Five Sea King turnovers, including a fumble and
an interception returned for touchdowns, were easily enough to
provide Northwood a 21-0 Pacific Coast League win Thursday at Irvine
High.
The Timberwolves (6-0, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 1 in CIF
Division IX, managed just one extended scoring drive -- a 72-yard
touchdown procession to open the second half.
Aside from a 25-18 loss to Troy Sept. 16, the CdM defense has
surrendered only two touchdown drives of more than 20 yards against
five other opponents.
“We just can’t hurt ourselves playing offense,” CdM Coach Dick
Freeman said.
While finding ways to more effectively protect the ball, however,
the Sea Kings are also challenged to find ways to move the ball. They
have been blanked twice this season, posting an average of 117.5
yards in those two contests.
Freeman said a failure to pick up repeated blitzes, against the
run and the pass, prohibited his team from generating any offensive
flow Thursday.
The Sea Kings must solve things quickly if they are to compete
Friday at Tesoro, (4-1, 1-0), ranked No. 3 in Division IX and the
reigning league and division champion.
* ESTANCIA: First-year Eagles Coach Brian Barnes looks at Orange,
which thumped his team, 50-6, Friday, and sees evidence of the type
of turnaround he is trying to engineer.
“What were they before their coach [Greg Gibson, a former
defensive lineman at Orange Coast College and an assistant coach at
Estancia, among other schools] took over five years ago?” Barnes
asked, rhetorically.
The Panthers were 1-29 in the three seasons before Gibson arrived.
He installed the double wing offense and also emphasized weight
training and toughness.
After a 2-8 transition season in 2001, Orange has gone 7-4, 11-2,
8-3 and now 4-1, 1-0 in league.
“[Gibson] has built a program there and that’s what we want to do
at Estancia,” Barnes said.
The Eagles (1-4, 1-1) will play host to Garden Grove (4-2) in a
nonleague game Thursday at Newport Harbor High.
* COSTA MESA: The Mustangs’ turnover troubles continued in
Friday’s 47-6 Golden West League loss to Westminster at Orange Coast
College.
But, so did a much more positive trend for Coach Jay Johnson’s
squad.
The Mustangs (0-6, 0-2), who threw four interceptions and are now
minus-13 in turnover ratio this season, did not commit a single
penalty against the Lions (4-2, 2-0).
Mesa has totaled only 14 penalties this season, including just one
against both Estancia and Brea.
Johnson said it stems from the coaches’ general emphasis on
accountability, rather than any specific mention of penalties.
“We talk about being responsible for yourself and your teammates
and just doing the right thing, on the field and off,” Johnson said.
“We go over it and over it every single day and maybe that’s what is
showing up on the field.”
Senior tailback Ivan Ruiz also showed up Friday, collecting 106
yards on 25 carries for his second straight triple-figure rushing
output.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.