Magical era at an end?

NH football column (end of era?)The magic number for the Newport Harbor High football program has long been 14.

Sailors Coach Jeff Brinkley, who capped his 20th season at the helm with a CIF Southern Section Division VI championship Saturday night, approaches each season with the goal of playing 14 weeks.

Every section school that plays 14 weeks winds up in a CIF title game. And the Sailors have done it seven times in the last 14 seasons, earning championships in 1994, 1999 and 2005.

During that remarkable 14-year run that began with the 1992 season, the Sailors have averaged 9.6 wins a year. Their 135-39-3 record in that span translates to a .771 winning percentage. In 12 trips to the postseason during those 14 years, Newport Harbor’s winning percentage against playoff competition is .757.

But, as you may or may not have heard, the Sailors are moving to the Sunset League next season, where they will hope to qualify for the CIF Division I playoffs.

Goodbye Valencia, Charter Oak, Mayfair, Tustin, Los Altos and Villa Park.

Hello Long Beach Poly, Loyola, Mater Dei, Esperanza, Los Alamitos and Edison.

And while Brinkley, predictably, is unwilling to concede anything, all but the most optimistic Sailors supporters could be forgiven for lamenting the end of the most notable era in the history of Newport-Mesa football.

A brief review:

The era kicked off with the school’s first trip to a CIF title game in 50 years. The 1992 Sailors upset top-seeded Rubidoux in the Division IV quarterfinals, edged Back Bay rival Corona del Mar in the game forever known as Battle of the Bell II, then fell to Sea View League rival Irvine in the title game. The first Brinkley-coached Newport team to get past the quarterfinals finished 11-3.

In 1994, the Sailors took 14 weeks to a new level, winning all 14 games to earn the program’s first CIF title. The Division V final victory featured some late drama as the Tars rallied to beat Servite, 20-15, at Orange Coast College.

The 1996 Sailors, a team some -- myself included -- believe was the best in Brinkley’s tenure, went 12-2. Its only loses were to a Santa Margarita squad led by then-junior quarterback Carson Palmer. The second loss to Santa Margarita was a 38-0 romp in the Division V final at Cal State Fullerton.

A semifinal loss to Palmer-led Santa Margarita finalized the 1997 Sailors’ record at 10-3, but they returned to the finals in 1999.

That season, the Tars capped a 13-0-1 campaign with a 19-18 win over Irvine in the Division VI title game at OCC.

Irvine avenged that loss the following season, defeating the Sailors, 14-0, to win the Division VI crown at OCC. The Tars finished 11-3.

The 2001 Sailors absorbed a heartbreaking loss to La Mirada in the semifinals to finish 10-2-1.

After consecutive first-round playoff exits in 2002 and ‘03, the Sailors returned to the title game last fall. But they fell to Division VI rival Orange Lutheran, 35-6, at Angel Stadium to finish 12-1-1.

And this season, the Tars won their final six games, capped by a 28-21 triumph over Valencia at OCC, to complete an 11-3 campaign.

While realistic about the competitive upgrade, Brinkley said the program will continue to rely on hard work to get the most out of future teams.

“Any time you’re stepping up to the top division in the state, and probably comparable to any division across the country, it’s a tough challenge,” Brinkley said.

“But we’ve managed to rise to the occasion before. We’ve always tried to prepare the best we can and that’s all you can do.”

Tom Jackson, the senior quarterback on this year’s championship team, said it would be unwise to predict the program’s collapse.

“I don’t look at it so much as the end of an era as a fresh start in a new league,” Jackson said. “People have already ruled these [Newport] kids out, but I say, ‘Why can’t they compete with the best of them?’”

No one would argue that hasn’t been the case for the last magical 14 seasons.

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