OC Varsity » Newport Harbor football http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com High school sports talk by the staff of the Orange County Register Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:00:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en-us hourly 1 Football: New threat in the Sunset League http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2009/09/18/football-new-threat-in-the-sunset-league/63847/ http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2009/09/18/football-new-threat-in-the-sunset-league/63847/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:03:18 +0000 Damian Calhoun, OCVarsity.com since 2004 http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/?p=63847 football_blog4It was the home opener for the Newport Harbor Sailors Thursday night and it also turned into "Say Hello to Cedric Whitaker" Night.

The junior transfer, listed at 5-8, from San Francisco, excited the crowd with several long runs, including a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third quarter.

He finished with 139 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

"I'm practicing every day on and off the field," Whitaker said. "After practice, I go to the gym and after the gym, I go run stairs ...When everybody else is home watching football, I'm still out trying to get better."

He adds a new dynamic as a legit breakaway threat to the Sailor offense that is going to make them a difficult team to defend.

"We're happy with the progress that he's making," Newport Harbor coach Jeff Brinkley said. "We've had some real good tailbacks, hopefully he falls right into that same group."

For Whitaker, it hasn't taken him long to make himself comfortable in his new surroundings.

"Everybody is making me feel comfortable," Whitaker said. "I love Newport."

(**follow me all season long at twitter.com/DamianCalhoun)

]]> http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2009/09/18/football-new-threat-in-the-sunset-league/63847/feed/ A kicking record in the making? And Brinkley nears milestone http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2009/08/19/a-kicking-record-in-the-making-and-brinkley-on-the-precipice/59491/ http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2009/08/19/a-kicking-record-in-the-making-and-brinkley-on-the-precipice/59491/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:56:36 +0000 STEVE FRYER, ocvarsity.com http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/?p=59491 football_iconNewport Harbor kicker Dillan Freiberg goes into the 2009 season, his senior year, with 54 consecutive successful extra-point kicks.

The county record is 58, set by Tommy Louie of Irvine in 1993. (Louie was the ace pitcher of that Irvine team that went to the Little League World Series finals in the late '80s.)

Also, Newport Harbor football coach Jeff Brinkley is four victories away from 200. Only seven coaches have gotten to No. 200.

]]> http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2009/08/19/a-kicking-record-in-the-making-and-brinkley-on-the-precipice/59491/feed/ Albano: How I voted this week (or Top 5 easy to pick, the rest isn't) http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2008/11/17/top-5-in-county-football-easy-to-pick-spots-6-10-wacky/14820/ http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/2008/11/17/top-5-in-county-football-easy-to-pick-spots-6-10-wacky/14820/#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:55:36 +0000 DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com http://ocvarsity.freedomblogging.com/?p=14820 Here's my vote for the county top-10 in football going into the playoffs:


1. Tesoro
2. Orange Lutheran (My preseason No. 1)
3. Mater Dei
4. Servite
5. Mission Viejo

6. Los Alamitos
7. Edison
8. Fountain Valley
9. Newport Harbor
10. San Clemente

With all the craziness in the Sunset League, the 6-10 spots were hard for me to pick.

Here's some of my rationale:

LosAl - Grifs might have been the closest in Sunset to going 5-0; kicking game really hurt them

Edison - Hard to look past Mater Dei win; injuries hurt Chargers

FV - Beat NH and Los Al back-to-back, respectable against Tesoro

NH - Playing the best football in the Sunset League at end

SC - Played tight games with Tesoro, MV and beat a very good La Habra

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