| 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newport Harbor | 0 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 35 |
| St. Anthony | 7 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 32 |
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With the season on the line in a do or die second half, the Newport Harbor Sailors saddled up Justin McCoy and rode the junior running back to a thrilling come-from-behind 35-32 victory over St. Anthony of Long Beach in the first round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
McCoy had an astonishing 37 carries – 23 in the second half – finishing with 219 yards and four touchdowns before sophomore quarterback Nick Kim hit senior receiver Jake Keliikoa with a 15-yard TD pass for the game-winner in the last half-minute of play. The Sailors improve to 8-3 with a victory in their first post-season appearance in five years and first playoff win since the 2013 season. St. Anthony finished the season 5-6 overall.
“We definitely bent a lot, but we never truly broke, which was huge,” said second-year Harbor Head Coach Peter Lofthouse. “Great effort. Justin McCoy was what he is, which is one of the best running backs in the Sunset League. We had to ride him more than we usually do and he, fortunately for us, came up huge.”
“It feels great. We’re so stoked to get a playoff win,” said an ecstatic McCoy still flying on adrenaline. “At halftime we had a talk, saying ‘all this hard work, it’s not for nothing, we can’t go out like this, we gotta fight hard for our seniors, we gotta come out and hit ‘em in the mouth in the second half’. I think we did that for the most part ‘cuz we got the ‘DUB.” (W = victory).
The second half surge followed a sputtering first half that saw the Sailors turn the ball over on two interceptions and a fumble on all three of their first-quarter possessions. Fortunately some strong defensive hustle prevented an early St. Anthony runaway.
On what was certainly the first half play of the game, and in retrospect maybe the critical play of the night, senior cornerback Austin Muro chased down Saints receiver Tyus Poyer sprinting for the goal line, stripped him of the ball and recovered the fumble in the end zone. Muro’s extra effort blew up was about to be a 36-yard touchdown pass play on the Saints first possession of the game.
St. Anthony broke the scoreless tie after its second interception deep in Harbor territory led to a three yard touchdown run by Lucas Lehmar. The senior quarterback would be a constant threat throughout the game, finishing with 85 yards rushing and 342 yards passing with five total touchdowns on the night.
The Saints extended the lead midway through the second quarter on a Lehmar 24-yard touchdown pass to senior Riley Jenkins, making the score 13-0 after Sailors senior safety Michael Morrison blocked the extra point try. The blocked kick would set in motion a series of strategic decisions on extra point tries by both teams for the remainder of the game.
The Harbor offense stirred to life when it turned to the run game on its next possession. McCoy rushed six times on an eight-play, 79-yard drive and scored from two yards out to make it 13-7 at half. McCoy gained 50 yards on the drive with a couple of Kim passes to Aidan Goltz accounting for a 34-yard completion and a critical pass interference call setting up a first & goal situation.
The six point deficit quickly turned worse as St. Anthony scored on a 64-yard pass play on the second play of the third quarter. A bad snap on the conversion try left the score at 19-7 early in the second half. The Sailors responded quickly with another McCoy-centric drive resulting in his second three-yard touchdown run of the night. That made it 19-14 after the extra point by senior place kicker Wade Tankersly. Kim threw one pass in the 6-play, 55-yard drive, hitting senior receiver Mason Walker for a first down on a 26-yard completion.
The relentless Saints attack pushed the lead back to 12 after a 12-play drive culminating in another Lehmar to Jenkins 15-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion try was stopped by the Sailors defense to keep the score at 25-13.
The inspired Harbor offense mounted its comeback on the next possession with a run/pass blend resulting in McCoys third touchdown on a 7-yard run. Kim hit three of three pass attempts including first down completions to James Crowell and another 26-yarder to Goltz.
With the score 25-20 to start the fourth quarter, NHHS took its first lead of the night after a sustained 14-play, 51-yard drive. McCoy carried nine times for 33 yards including his fourth touchdown on a one yard plunge. Kim’s completion to Crowell on the 2-point conversion gave the Sailors a 28-25 lead with seven and a half minutes to play.
The Saints came right back to retake the lead on a 40-yard deflected pass that Poyer picked out of the air between two Sailor defenders. Trailing 32-28, Harbor needed a touchdown in a do-or-die situation with just over four minutes remaining and 85 yards to the goal line.
McCoy carried the load on three straight run plays and two pass receptions covering a total of 40 yards. Kim connected with Goltz on a critical 4th-down conversion for 16 yards to keep the drive alive before scrambling to hit Keliikoa with the clutch 15-yard game winner with :28.8 seconds to spare.
“It was just electrifying,” Keliikoa reflected on the catch that kept his senior season alive. “As soon as I caught it, I just hoped my toes were in, and they were. Words can’t describe how I felt. Just electric.”
Linebackers Chad Koste and Erik Hehl were each credited with seven solo tackles to lead the defense, with strong contributions from Johnny Brigandi, Chris Jover, Kaden Stowell, Kris Kirnbaur, Spencer O’Bryan, Morrison and Muro. In a post-season twist, the defense even made use of offensive athletes Goltz, Walker and quarterback Cole Lavin to rush the passer in the fourth quarter.
“Welcome to playoff football. That’s the way it works, it’s a one-game season, so time to sign up for whatever the coach asks you to do,” Lofthouse explained. “We needed help getting a pass rush, we figured we’d try every single body we could. And you know what? Those guys made some plays. So next week, who knows?”
Harbor now advances to play a home game against Monrovia (10-1) in the second round on Friday night at Davidson Field. The Wildcats defeated Santa Fe 41-0 in their first round game. Kickoff for the second-round match up will be at 7:00 p.m.
-Matt Morrison