| 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monrovia | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| Newport Harbor | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
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In another heart-stopping display of grit and determination, the Newport Harbor football team rallied late to earn a second-straight last-minute playoff victory and now advance to the CIF Division IX semifinals next week. The Tars will travel to the city of Palmdale to play Highland High School.
The Sailors defeated Monrovia 24-20 Friday night at Davidson Field for the team’s first home playoff victory in six years. For the second week in a row, the enthusiastic Tar faithful witnessed a down-to-the-wire thriller that was undecided until the final play of the game.
“I’m just proud of the way the kids competed and kept fighting through the adversity,” said Harbor Head Coach Peter Lofthouse above the roar of a victory chant by his players. “We said, before we got to the playoffs, we just wanted a chance. And that’s what we’ve got, we’re down to the final four.”
The Sailors (9-3) found themselves down early when the Wildcats (10-2) scored a touchdown on the opening possession. Quarterback Nick Hernandez scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 12-play, 71-yard drive to make it 7-0.
Off to a rough start, Harbor fumbled the ball away on its first play from scrimmage, but the defense came to the rescue when senior cornerback Austin Muro intercepted a Hernandez pass downfield on the next play. Later in the first quarter, junior linebacker Erik Hehl forced Monrovia’s second turnover on a strip and fumble recovery setting up a Nick Kim to Aidan Goltz 35-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 7-7.
The Wildcats responded with another 12-play drive in to the second quarter resulting in an 11-yard touchdown run by receiver Daylen Wilson on a slick, inside double-handoff play. After Harbor junior place kicker Wade Tankersley connected on a 27-yard field goal, the score was 14-10 Monrovia at half.
“We’ve been down a lot this season. We come back a lot, we love it,” reflected junior Cole Lavin, who played a significant role at multiple positions for the first time since suffering a knee injury in the fifth game of the season. “We don’t get down on ourselves, we keep fighting, we keep chipping away. We’re super-well conditioned. (Strength & conditioning) Coach (Eddie) Steele is doing wonders with our team.”
After a scoreless third quarter, Monrovia extended the lead on a short touchdown run early in the fourth to complete another 12-play drive, though the Wildcats’ tricky two-point conversion try failed. Down 20-10, Tarball responded with a 12-play drive of its own as Lavin alternated with Kim at quarterback for a nifty blend of run/pass options resulting in Lavin’s 6-yard touchdown run to make it 20-17 after the extra point by senior kicker Jack Starnes.
After the teams traded punts, Monrovia regained possession with just over five minutes to play and looked to grind down the clock with a 3-point lead. Hehl had other ideas when the junior linebacker caused his second fumble of the game, stripping Hernandez on a sack before senior Kris Kirnbauer pounced on the loose ball at the Harbor 35-yard line with 3:24 to play.
Once again, the Sailors offense took the field in a win-it or pack-it-in scenario. Kim connected with junior James Crowell and Goltz on consecutive pass plays for a first down across midfield. Five straight Justin McCoy run plays netted 33 yards and two more first downs. Then Kim went over the top on the near sideline to Goltz who made a spectacular acrobatic catch good for 20 yards and a first & goal set-up with just over a minute on the clock. Two plays later, McCoy swept around the right side behind linemen senior Cole McCuniff and sophomore Grayson Simon before a tremendous multi-player collision at the goal line. When the dust settled, McCoy was in for the touchdown and the Sailors took their first lead of the game with :54 seconds to play.
“I think, just the defensive turnover,” Goltz explained of the catalyst for the final drive. “I mean, you gotta respond when your team gets that turnover, that late in the game, in that critical of a situation.”
Goltz finished with 10 reception for 118 yards and a touchdown with nine yards rushing on two carries plus a sack on defense. Kim completed 19 of 32 passes for 162 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. Lavin finished with 31 yards rushing on five carries and one TD.
“Oh my gosh! It feels so good,” said McCoy, the junior running back who was the OC Register Boys Athlete of the Week coming off his 219-yard rushing, four touchdown performance in last week’s playoff win over St. Anthony. McCoy finished with 107 yards and the game winner against Monrovia. “It was definitely a gritty game, very physical and it’s great to get out with the win.”
But before Harbor could chalk it up, the defense had to make one last stand as the Wildcats went on the hurry-up attack with just under a minute to play. Moving the ball across midfield, Monrovia’s final play was a cardio-check of a short pass completion and a desperation series of no less than five laterals that didn’t allow the Tar faithful a breath until the last ball carrier was splattered going backwards.
“That was a stressful play,” said senior safety Michael Morrison. “After we stopped them two or three times, I kinda knew they were just gonna keep going farther and farther back down the field until we stopped them.”
Senior linebacker and co-captain Chad Koste was rock-solid in the middle with 11 solo tackles to lead the team along with four assists. Hehl and Morrison were credited with eight solo tackles, with junior cornerback Mason DePoy and sophomore linebacker Andrew Cheiner credited with five each.
Down linemen seniors JJ Perez, Chris Jover and Kirnbauer made critical stops and applied pressure in the pass game while the defensive backfield with Muro, DePoy, Morrison and junior Spencer O’Bryan shut down receivers with blanket coverage. Linebackers junior Zach Debarnarde and senior Johnny Brigandi contained the outside edges with Brigandi, a team co-captain, returning to gut-out the second half after re-injuring his dislocated left shoulder.
“It feels good, I’m excited to keep going,” said offensive tackle Carter Mathisrud, another senior co-captain essentially speaking for the whole team. “I’m excited to make all these memories with all the guys and hopefully go get another win next week.”
The Friday night lights for the Sailors will take place in the Antelope Valley next week as the fourth-ranked Sailors will travel to the tenth-ranked Highland (9-3) in the Division IX semifinals on Friday, November 22nd with kickoff set for 7:30 pm
-Matt Morrison