Secondhand Star

Morgan Craig attended his first Newport Harbor High football game when he was in the second grade and, as a fourth-grader, watched the 1994 championship team play. He grew up dreaming of being a Sailor.

But when he finally cracked the lineup this season--replacing Chris Manderino as starting quarterback--he was excited and apprehensive at the same time.

Two months later, Craig has fit into the Sailors’ offense like Ed McMahon fit into the Tonight Show.

“I didn’t try to expect anything,” Craig said this week as he prepared to face Irvine in the Southern Section Division VI championship game tonight at Orange Coast College. “I just tried to complete a few passes so we could run the ball more [effectively].

“When we made the switch, I was excited to play. . . . This exceeded my expectations. I didn’t expect to be in the finals my junior year.”

Manderino, who was moved to tailback, is Newport Harbor’s star, the one who rushed for 2,062 yards and scored 31 touchdowns. But Craig is one of the reasons the Sailors are getting a chance to defend their section title.

“We knew we [had] to get more and more out of Morgan as the season went along,” said Jeff Brinkley, Newport Harbor’s coach. “I was conservative with him at the beginning because we had Chris.

“[Craig’s] become more confident. He’s accurate if he’s given time to pass. In our system, it’s critical to throw a high percentage with a low interception ratio.”

Craig has completed 84 of 140 attempts (60%) for 1,097 yards. His results through 13 games are relatively modest, with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

However, in the last six games, he has completed 53 of 75 (71%) for 695 yards and five touchdowns. He had two passes intercepted in a victory over Cathedral City.

And in three playoff games, he has completed 19 of 26 passes (73%) with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

He stated the obvious after the 35-16 upset of top-seeded La Mirada in the semifinals: It was his best performance of the season. He completed seven of 11 passes for 128 yards with two touchdowns.

“I said all along that he was going to have a big game at some point,” Brinkley said. “And he stepped up.”

But Craig’s passing in that game was only half the story. He also rushed 11 times for 87 yards, gaining 13 and 19 yards on draw plays that led to Newport Harbor’s first two touchdowns. His sneak from the Sailor one-yard line gained four yards and was the first play on what turned into a 99-yard scoring drive.

“He’s gotten better each week and his last game was his best of the year,” said Manderino, who was switched to tailback because the Sailors weren’t getting much production from the backfield. “He proved he was the guy for the spot and capable of performing that role.

“I told him before the [La Mirada] game that I believed in him and that I knew he’d get the job done.”

And Craig has for the Sailors (11-2), who were seeded fourth in the playoffs.

“I look at his development as a quarterback, and he is the perfect complement to a great running game,” said Woodbridge Coach Rick Gibson, whose team lost to Newport Harbor, 36-8, in Week 8.

“He does the play action very well, he’s very accurate, and he does exactly what [Brinkley] asks: Don’t turn the ball over, and make big plays when you need to,” Gibson said.

“He’s the ultimate team player because Manderino is getting most of the ink, but you’ve got to have a stable quarterback to be a champion.”