CIF SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS:

SHERMAN OAKS — Why stop at round one?

Having made the CIF football playoffs after missing them last year, the Newport Harbor High Sailors didn’t see fit to just lie down and take a first-round loss.

Instead, they extended their season with a gasp-inducing 7-3 win over Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks Friday night in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs.

It was the Tars’ first postseason victory since winning the Division VI championship in 2005.

Newport will play host to Long Beach Poly Friday. The Jackrabbits, who beat the Sailors, 34-7, Sept. 14, defeated Santa Margarita, 39-7, Friday night.

The Sailors (8-3) were helped by the absence of Notre Dame senior quarterback Dayne Crist. Crist did not play because he was still recovering from a concussion sustained against Crespi in the Knights’ last regular-season game. Earlier in the week, Crist was unsure if he would play Friday night, but he was in his jersey and street clothes when the Knights (8-3) took the field. Crist, a top college prospect, has committed to playing at the University of Notre Dame next season.

“We didn’t know until five minutes before the game when the coach came up to our team [that Crist wouldn’t play],” said Harbor senior defensive end Brandon Davis.

Crist was replaced by junior backup Thomas Edwards, who was eight for 14 for 98 yards.

The Tars relied on a disciplined offense that featured short passes and runs from Ben Frazier and Michael Helfrich, whose eight carries for 27 yards all came in the second half.

The Tars’ single biggest gain was McDonald’s 22-yard touchdown pass to JB Green with 5:09 left in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Cecil Whiteside was the only Sailor to have any catches in the first half, and 72 of McDonald’s 98 passing yards went to four different receivers after the halftime break.

“Coming into this game, I was thinking, know my check-downs, know my short passes in case I get some pressure,” McDonald said.

After relinquishing 47 points to Edison in a shutout loss last week, the Sailors rebounded, holding Notre Dame to just three points.

“Defense had to step up, and I think we came with it,” Davis said. “We had a good blitz package, and we shut them down on three downs.”

Junior cornerback Danny Miller agreed.

“Last week was not really us,” he said.

A couple of key sacks kept the Knights from scoring a first-half touchdown. Davis had both stops.

Edwards completed a 51-yard pass that put the Knights near the Sailors’ end zone, and they advanced three more yards on a carry by Brown to the Newport Harbor five-yard line. Davis’ sack was good for an eight-yard loss which pushed Notre Dame back to the Sailors’ 13.

The Knights were forced to kick a 26-yard field goal for the first-half score.

Davis’ second sack kept the Knights from getting off a pass for the last play of the second half, and Newport Harbor went to the locker room trailing, 3-0.

“Basically, the quarterback scrambled, and coach told me to stay outside, and he was right there,” Davis said. “He came right into my arms.”

Knowing the Knights would try a couple of desperation passes with less than one minute left in regulation, the Sailors pushed Edwards back with another sack, this time by senior end Dusty Campbell. Miller knocked the ball away on Notre Dame’s last two pass plays, including an attempt on fourth-and-20.

Normally reserved, even when the Sailors win, Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley could hardly contain his elation as the game clock ran down.

Brinkley was sporting a huge grin as he ran to the middle of the field to high-five Davis at the end of the game.

“These guys are a very good football team,” Brinkley said. “They’ve got five Division-I players over there, and our kids just came in and competed their tails off. They played hard all night, and it was a really great game for them.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at [email protected].