Sailors on early holiday

Barry Faulkner

The Newport Harbor High football team has one less thing to be

thankful for this Thanksgiving after a surprising first-round exit in

the CIF Southern Section Division VI Playoffs.

In a game that went down to the last dramatic play, a 57-yard

desperation heave from quarterback Michael McDonald to Alex Orth to

the Valencia High 20-yard line as time expired, the Sailors (7-4)

came up short, 35-28.

The loss eliminated the Sailors, who had not lost in the first

round since 1993 and had gone to four section title games and two

semifinals in their last six trips to the postseason. It also means

there will be no morning practice Thursday, which has become a

Thanksgiving tradition for the program.

“It was a double hit,” Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said of

the loss, in which Valencia erased a 21-0 deficit and scored the

winning touchdown on 32-yard pass on fourth-and-three with 59 seconds

left. “No. 1, I feel sorry for our seniors. You never want it to end

for them and it’s always an emotional thing when it does. Then, on

top of that, we had put ourselves in position to win (leading early),

so to not win was a double shot.”

Brinkley, however, praised his team’s effort and performance,

giving the ultimate credit to Valencia.

“I think we kept after it and we battled to the last play. That is

really all you can ask out of the kids,” Brinkley said. “I really

believed we were rejuvenated for the playoffs and, going into

Friday’s game, I thought the kids were focused. Even during pregame,

I told my coaches I thought they were really ready to play. But I

thought it was going to be a one-touchdown game and that’s how it

turned out. It was probably a good game to watch, but it turned out

to be extremely disappointing for us.”

For all but a handful of Sailor seniors, it was the last time

they’ll ever compete in more than a weekend pick-up game. Those who

figure to get a chance to play at the collegiate level, either

two-year our four-year programs, include senior quarterback Michael

McDonald, senior tailback and safety Dartangan Johnson, and senior

offensive tackle A.J. Slater.

McDonald completed 15 of 23 passes for 239 yards and three

touchdowns, upping his season total to 121 of 217 for 1,820 yards, 15

TDs and only four interceptions. Brinkley said he is being looked at

by several schools, including Hawaii and Portland State.

Slater, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound standout, has garnered interest from

UNLV and Colorado State, among others, while Johnson will begin at

the community college level, where he can shore up his academics

before potentially helping a four-year program.

Johnson rushed for a season-high 177 yards and one TD on 24

carries against Valencia. He finishes at Harbor with a school career

record 3,397 yards on 560 carries. Johnson had 18 games of at least

100 rushing yards, also a school record. He also scored 35 career

rushing TDs, 36 overall, and had his best two-way performance of the

season Friday, Brinkley said. Brinkley said he will meet with the

players today, then take some time off, before working toward the

2003 season.

“The beauty of this profession is that you are constantly learning

and getting better.”