Newport Harbor Sidetracks Costa Mesa : 4 Interceptions, Fumble Contribute Toward Mustangs’ First Loss

The shutout streak is over, but Newport Harbor High School’s defense turned opportunistic Friday night as the Sailors rolled to a 21-7 victory over Costa Mesa in front of 3,000 fans in LeBard Stadium in Costa Mesa.

The Sailors (3-1) intercepted four passes and recovered a fumble to hand Costa Mesa its first loss after three victories. The Mustangs managed to snap Newport Harbor’s scoreless streak at 12 quarters when they scored a touchdown with only 11 seconds remaining.

Guy Greely led the Saliors on defense with two interceptions, including one for 31 yards in the third quarter that set up the second touchdown. Teammates Steve Kalatschan and Kirk Smith also intercepted passes.

“We didn’t do anything differently in the secondary, we were in our basic zone coverage,” said Jeff Brinkley, the Sailors’ first-year coach. “I’m obviously happy with our defense. The scoreless streak is over, but I’m still not so sure they scored at the end of the game.”

While Brinkley disputed Costa Mesa’s last-second score, there was no doubting that the Mustangs had additional chances to score. Costa Mesa piled up 20 first downs and 292 yards in total offense.

“We marched up and down the field and totally outplayed them in the second quarter, but penalties and turnovers killed us,” Costa Mesa Coach Tom Baldwin said. “I’m certainly not discouraged. I think we have a good football team.”

But, oh those penalties. The Mustangs were cited 12 times for 123 yards, including a five-yard penalty for delay of the game when the Costa Mesa ballboys couldn’t produce a ball quick enough for the game officials.

Mustang quarterback Mike Crowe threw for 190 yards, but two poorly thrown passes at Newport Harbor’s 13-yard line in the second quarter and at the Sailors’ 4-yard line early in the third quarter killed two scoring opportunities.

The game pitted two teams in transition. Costa Mesa, looking for its first post-season playoff appearance in eight years, had been averaging 28.6 points per game. The Mustangs showed plenty of offensive punch with Tyler Riddell and Mike Ritchie. Riddell gained 78 yards rushing and caught 3 passes for 25 yards.

Newport Harbor was a team in search of touchdowns. The Sailors had scored only three in three previous games and two of those were by the defense. They averaged 10.6 points a game.

Quarterback Kirk Summers provided some punch, passing for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns. Summers connected with Joe Maxwell on a 16-yard scoring play in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead and then teamed with Mark Craig for a six-yard score in the fourth quarter to push the Sailors ahead, 21-0.