TWO-MINUTE DRILL

Newport Harbor High outside linebacker Nick Svendsen kept making play after play early in the Sailors’ 27-7 victory against high-powered Fountain Valley in Friday’s Sunset League opener at Newport Harbor.

Then an injury took Svendsen out early in the third quarter, as if Coach Jeff Brinkley needed another banged-up player.

Svendsen, a junior, laid on his back with the Sailors up, 13-0. After trainers put a brace on his right leg, a couple of teammates helped him to the sideline. The injury looked serious, but Brinkley, who saw three big-time starters (tailback Ben Frazier, middle linebacker and receiver Cecil Whiteside, and free safety Michael Helfrich) return from injuries Friday, said he wouldn’t know the severity for another couple of days.

If Svendsen is lost for the year, Helfrich said it would be a huge setback for a defense that forced seven turnovers (five fumbles and two interceptions) against the Barons.

Svendsen was responsible for forcing nifty quarterback Bryse Blake to fumble inside the Sailors’ 10, stalling the Barons’ first drive. On their second possession, Svendsen put the Barons in a third-and-16 on their own 18 after sacking Blake.

“We’re hoping he can bounce back,” said Helfrich, who started after hurting his shoulder and leaving in the first quarter of Newport Harbor’s 39-30 win against Mira Costa on Oct. 5.

 Corona del Mar players weren’t just facing any old Tyson when they played their first Pacific Coast League game of the season Thursday at Beckman. Starting running back D’Amato Tyson is the son of former heavyweight boxing champion MikeTyson. The younger Tyson had 18 carries for 73 yards against CdM.

 Senior fraternal twins, linebackers Kevin and Erik Rask, weren’t the only ones to have stellar games on defense for the Sea Kings.

Junior outside linebacker Max Haase proved to be instrumental in Corona del Mar’s 22-3 victory over Beckman.

It was the fewest points the Sea Kings’ defense has allowed all season. Haase had four tackles, including two sacks. He also forced a fumble and recovered it, and he had an interception.

 Frazier returned at tailback for Newport Harbor after missing the previous two games with a knee injury. The senior ran strong, totaling 45 yards on 17 carries, his second best effort of the year.

But Frazier left the game in the third quarter with what Helfrich said was soreness in the knee. Helfrich took over in the final quarter, rushing for 23 yards and one touchdown, not as impressive as the 281 yards and three touchdowns on the ground he recorded on Fountain Valley in last year’s 35-14 win.

“I feel bad for Ben getting hurt, but it felt good running the ball,” said Helfrich, who touched the ball in the backfield for the first time since Sept. 28, when he ran for 102 yards. “[Ben’s injury is] not that bad.”

  Next for Newport Harbor (5-1, 1-0 in league) is a Sunset league game at Esperanza (6-0, 1-0). The Aztecs, ranked No. 10 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division, went into last year’s league opener against the Sailors undefeated, as well.

But Newport Harbor, in its first Sunset League game since 1980, pulled off a stunning 21-13 upset at home, handing the Aztecs their only league loss of the year.

“I know they’ll be well prepared for us,” Brinkley said of Esperanza, which last year shared the league title with Edison and Los Alamitos.

 While Corona del Mar opened Pacific Coast League play by knocking off previously unbeaten Beckman, Coach Dick Freeman’s Sea Kings have an even tougher road ahead. Their final three games are against Laguna Hills (3-2), ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, No. 9-ranked Irvine (6-1), and No. 2-ranked University (6-0).

 It was a tough game for Costa Mesa High during Saturday night’s 44-0 loss to visiting Rim of the World at Newport Harbor. But it was still homecoming, after all.

Sam Strodel was crowned homecoming queen. Strodel is a standout forward for the Mustangs girls’ soccer team.

 In seven games this season, Estancia senior receiver Ryan Redding has caught passes from three different quarterbacks: Mike Morley, Radames Gutierrez, and Eddie Tomasek.

Redding was most accustomed to playing with Morley behind center, but he has also caught touchdown passes from both Gutierrez and Tomasek.

Tomasek found Redding twice for long touchdowns at Vasquez, and the Eagles scored on 56- and 60-yard catches. Gutierrez hit Redding with a 66-yard touchdown pass against Ocean View.

“It’s different,” Redding said. “Eddie’s new at this. Obviously, Mike’s a better quarterback. He has been doing it for three years. But Eddie did a great job, put the ball in my hands and tried to make something happen.”

Though Tomasek completed seven of 10 for 163 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, Estancia Coach Mike Bargas said the Eagles will stick with Gutierrez at quarterback when they open Orange Coast League play Oct. 26 against Calvary Chapel.

 Bargas wasn’t just concerned with how the offense would look with an untested quarterback at the controls Friday night, he was also worried about how the long trip to Acton would affect his team. Even though Vasquez is only about 90 miles from Costa Mesa, a drive during rush hour can take longer than three hours.

“It was a long trip, and any time you travel this far, things can go sour in a hurry,” Bargas said. “But overall, I was pleased with the performance. We still have some mistakes to clean up, but otherwise the guys played well. We’re happy.”

But the game stayed sweet for the Eagles, who won, 37-20, in the windy 40-degree weather. Almost as soon as the players exchanged handshakes after the game, it started to rain.

 Costa Mesa Coach Jeremy Osso has been saying for a while now that his team needs to do better in the battle of field position.

Against Rim of the World, the Mustangs weren’t helped by two botched punt attempts.

On the first, a bad snap resulted in the ball on the ground, and Costa Mesa wasn’t able to get a kick off. On the second, the punter again had to bend down for the ball — and in doing so, put his knee down to end the play.

Rim of the World got the ball at the Costa Mesa 21-yard line and the Mesa 15, respectively, on the two miscues. The Fighting Scots scored 10 of their points on the two ensuing drives.

“We helped them out again,” Osso said.

 Osso doesn’t, however, put too much stock in the shutout loss. Rim of the World, he noted, is now 5-1 on the season and went 10-1 last year.

“I don’t look at this as a huge setback,” Osso said.

— From staff reports