High School Football: Kinder goes off again

The record-setting season for Newport Harbor High’s Cole Kinder continued Friday.

The senior tailback rushed for a school-single-game-record 337 yards on 26 carries to lead the host Sailors to a 62-35 Sunset League football victory over Marina at Jim Scott Stadium.

Kinder, who last week broke the school career rushing yardage record, bested his own single-game standard of 327 in a loss to Los Altos earlier this season.

Kinder, whose five touchdowns included bursts of 55, 54 and 51 yards, now has 1,727 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground this season, 25 touchdowns overall. His 40 career touchdowns leave him five shy of matching the school career record set by Steve Brazas.

The Sailors (5-4, 3-1 in league) clinched a top-three league finish and a guaranteed berth in the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs. They also remained in contention for the league crown, heading into their regular-season finale against Los Alamitos on Thursday at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

Kinder, who capped his night with a 51-yard scoring run late in the third quarter, also had two receptions for 42 yards as both teams exchanged possessions that more resembled volleys than drives and combined for 990 yards of offense.

Newport Harbor scored on nine of its first 10 possessions, and 10 of its first 12.

The Sailors’ Roger Sanborn returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to break a 21-21 tie and the Tars added touchdown drives that required two plays, three plays (twice), five plays (twice) and seven plays.

Marina (3-6, 0-4), which extended its league losing streak to 60 games dating back to 2004, has now lost 16 straight seasons to the Sailors.

The Vikings matched the Sailors’ first three scores with touchdown drives of their own, thanks to some explosiveness that led to first-half touchdown drives of 90, 80, 80, and 80 yards. Marina needed just nine plays to score the aforementioned touchdowns, but trailed, 48-28, at halftime.

Newport Harbor opened the scoring with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Sam Barela to Levi Hooper three plays after Marina’s first possession ended with the first of its five punts.

Newport Harbor finished with 378 rushing yards and 142 more through the air to amass 520 offensive yards.

Barela, who alternated with Spencer Hook, completed six of eight passes for 105 yards and the aforementioned score.

Marina junior quarterback Ian Green was 10 for 19 passing for 264 yards and two touchdowns, and added a 45-yard touchdown run.

Green flipped to Brandon Savea for a 66-yard touchdown on a screen pass and connected with Alex Holmes on a post pattern that produced an 80-yard touchdown.

Marina running back Cooper Malerstein ran 80 yards for another score and Alex Holmes returned a punt 53 yards for the Vikings final touchdown.

A would-be 28-yard touchdown pass to Holmes was nullified by a penalty on the second play of the third quarter. Marina had 11 penalties for 129 yards.

Holmes, a senior, had 120 yards on two catches and now has 844 yards and 12 touchdowns receiving this season.

The 62 points were the second-best total this year for Newport Harbor, which topped Fountain Valley, 66-34.

Newport Harbor can gain a share of the Sunset League crown if its beats Los Alamitos and Edison is upset by Huntington Beach on Friday.

SUNSET LEAGUE

Newport Harbor 62, Marina 35

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Marina 14 – 14 – 0 – 7 – 35

Newport 21 – 27 – 14 – 0 – 62

FIRST QUARTER

NH – Hooper 37 pass from Barela (Schroeder kick), 10:20.

Mar – Green 45 run (Keidel kick), 9:21.

NH – Kinder 55 run (Schroeder kick), 8:04.

Mar – Malerstein 80 run (Keidel kick), 7:50.

NH – Kinder 54 run (Schroeder kick), 5:10.

SECOND QUARTER

Mar – Savea 66 pass from Green (Keidel kick), 9:07.

NH – Sanborn 95 kickoff return (kick), 8:54.

NH – Valasquez 33 FG, 6:54.

NH – Kinder 13 run (Schroeder kick), 4:23.

Mar – Holmes 80 pass from Green (Keidel kick), 4:10.

NH – Kinder 18 run (Schroeder kick), 2:26.

NH – Valasquez 25 FG, 0:25.

THIRD QUARTER

NH – Kinder 1 run (Schroeder kick), 10:15.

NH – Kinder 51 run (Schroeder kick), 1:18.

FOURTH QUARTER

Mar – Holmes 53 punt return (Keidel kick), 3:59.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Mar – Malerstein, 14-152, 1 TD.

NH – Kinder, 26-337, 5 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Mar – Green, 10-19-1, 264, 2 TDs.

NH – Barela, 6-8-0, 105, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Mar – Holmes, 2-120, 1 TD.

NH – Kinder, 2-42