Newport Harbor Bounces Back With Big Win Over Los Alamitos

Newport Harbor bounced back from a tough loss last week and improved to 2-1 in the Sunset League race with a 35-21 victory over Los Alamitos on Friday night at Newport Harbor High.

The Sailors came out fast to take a 14-0 lead and then shut the door on a second-half Los Alamitos rally by eating up most of the final 5:35 with a 12-play drive that forced the Griffins to burn their final two timeouts. The drive culminated in A.J. Sweis' five-yard touchdown run for the final 35-21 margin.

Titus Hasson, who led the Sailors with 255 rushing yards, had 69 yards on 10 carries during the final drive.  

The victory was a complete reversal from the lopsided loss the Sailors suffered at the hands of Huntington Beach last week. Sailor coach Jeff Brinkley said he told his players that their playoff hopes hinged on this game and they responded.

"I was really proud of the way they came back and just battled tonight," Brinkley said. "I don’t BS the kids. I told them, 'This is it; it’s all or nothing. You guys want to have a chance to make the playoffs, we have to win this week.'"

Los Alamitos struggled to put points on the board in the first half, despite moving the ball well at times. The Griffins turned the ball over on downs at the Sailors' five-yard line on their first possession and again at the Sailors' 38 on their next possession.  

Running back Cody Paul finished with 120 yards rushing and quarterback Dylan Lagarde had 204 passing yards, but the Griffins found themselves trailing at halftime, 28-7.

Los Alamitos found some life in the second half as it turned a missed onside kick attempt into a short drive that ended with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Lagarde to Kendall Holmes that cut the deficit to 28-14. The Griffins held the Sailors on their ensuing possession, then drove 73 yards in 14 plays to cut their deficit to 28-21 on a 15-yard touchdown run by Paul.

Los Alamitos (5-3 overall, 1-2 in league) had two more possessions but missed a field goal on the first and suffered an interception by senior kory Cablay that gave the Sailors the ball back for their game-clinching drive.

Griffins coach John Barnes said that despite the slow start, his team had chances to win the game, but couldn’t come up with the key plays they needed. "Plays were there, we didn’t make them. It was poor playing and poor coaching," he said.

Newport Harbor (4-4, 2-1) opened the game with a nine-play drive that ended with Hasson running three yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. After stopping the Griffins on downs in the second quarter, the Sailors drove 62 yards for a 20-yard touchdown pass from Blower to Cablay for a 14-0 lead. Cablay made a running catch at the front pylon for the score.

After the Griffins scored on an eight-yard pass from Lagarde to Kyle Roberts with 1:52 left in the second quarter to cut the Sailors' lead to 14-7, Newport Harbor struck right back. On the first play from scrimmage, Hasson went off right tackle, found a seam and ran straight along the right hash mark for a 63-yard touchdown that pushed their lead to 28-7.

Hasson said those running lanes keyed his big night. "It was the O line," he said."They were getting hats on hats and everything goes through them."

Los Alamitos tried to answer back, but an interception by senior Ethan Cochran on the first play from scrimmage returned the ball to the Sailors with 1:17 left in the half. After reaching the Griffins' 23-yard line, Blower was under heavy defensive pressure but managed to shovel a short pass to Hasson, who found room around the left side and sprinted 23 yards for a touchdown that gave the Sailors a 28-7 halftime advantage.

The Sailors, who moved into a tie with Huntington Beach for second place in the league race behind Edison, have a league game on Thursday against Marina at Westminster High. The Griffins will return home to host Huntington Beach on Friday at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.