Sailors surprise Foothill

Big plays and solid defense help Newport Harbor prevail in battle of Sea View League unbeatens.NEWPORT BEACH -- As the 75th anniversary homecoming festivities illustrated, football at Newport Harbor High is into its eighth decade. During that time, the Sailors have won 11 league titles. With Friday night’s 19-13 victory over visiting Foothill in an early battle of Sea View League unbeatens, the Sailors (5-2, 2-0 in league) took a big step toward making it an even dozen.

For the second straight week and the third time in seven games, Newport Harbor junior Jarrett Daniel made the biggest plays. He returned a punt 87 yards for the game’s first score, scored the Sailors’ second touchdown after setting it up with a 54-yard reception, then helped the hosts hang on for their first win over Foothill since the two were aligned in the Sea View League three seasons ago.

“Big win,” said Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley. “We played well on both sides of the ball. I told [Joe Urban, a former Sailor standout from the Class of 1997 and an assistant coach with the school’s freshman team] that one reminded me of some of the old days. There was a lot of hitting going on from both teams.”

There were little fireworks, however, until Jarrett helped the overflow crowd on the home side enjoy its celebratory mood with 1:01 left in the opening quarter.

“I was supposed to go right, but the middle opened up and I just hit that hole,” Jarrett said of his 87-yard burst that may have altered the field-position battle as dramatically as it did the scoreboard.

“That punt return was a major boost for our team,” said Newport Harbor defensive tackle Delano McKenzie, who helped the hosts -- ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division VI -- keep Foothill (4-3, 1-1) scoreless through three quarters.

Another potential game-changer -- a 35-yard interception return to the Foothill 12-yard line by Sailors cornerback Fernando Lara early in the second quarter -- was nullified by a pass-interference penalty.

But Jarrett and Tom Jackson hooked up to make sure the Sailors reached the end zone on their next possession. Jackson, rolling to his left, lobbed a pass to Jarrett, who was well behind the Foothill secondary, for a 54-yard gain to the Knights’ 5.

Two plays later, Jackson hit Jarrett on a 4-yard slant for a 12-0 lead with 2:11 left in the first half.

Foothill recovered a muffed punt at the Sailors’ 23-yard line with eight seconds left in the half, but missed a 36-yard field-goal try as time expired to waste the opportunity.

Sailor outside linebacker David Rosales recovered a fumble to halt Foothill’s initial third-quarter drive at the Sailors’ 9-yard line. And, four plays later, senior fullback Jack Tracy burst 79 yards on a counter to add to the lead.

Nick Frazier added the conversion kick to make the score 19-0 with 5:18 left in the third quarter.

Foothill went 72 yards on 16 plays with its ensuing possession to pull within 19-6, but Newport Harbor fielded the kickoff and ate more than six minutes off the clock, before punting to the Knights’ 16.

A 47-yard pass by Brendan Clarke to Michael Rizzo keyed a nine-play, 84-yard scoring march that ended when offensive tackle Will Quinlivan fell on a fumble into the end zone after a 15-yard run with 1:12 left in the game.

Lara snagged the ensuing onside kick and the Sailors drained the clock, as time expired on a Foothill punt return to its 26.

“The punt return stung us,” Foothill Coach Doug Case said. “Then we’re going in to make it 12-6 [in the third quarter], but we fumble and they go [79] yards to make it 19-0. The only positive from this one was that we played terrible, and it was still close.”

Tracy’s big run helped him finish with 103 rushing yards on six carries.

Newport Harbor senior tailback Ryan Rippon added 82 yards on 21 attempts and Jarrett finished with 58 of the Tars’ 63 passing yards on two receptions.

Jason Uhl, Mike Calabrese, Frazier, Rosales, Billy Brown, Scott Andrews, Jayme Ohlhaver, James Coder, Jackson, Brett Green and Keith Eldridge added to the Sailors’ strong defensive performance.