The 2019 edition of the Newport Harbor football team opened fall camp on Monday, August 5, with just under three weeks to prepare for their season opener August 23rd vs. Woodbridge High School (played at University High School).
Head Coach Peter Lofthouse is entering his second season at the helm with a more settled foundation than when he took over the program late in the spring of 2018.
After putting his team through its first practice of the season, Coach Lofthouse sat down for a 2019 overview in a question and answer format.
Q: How many players does the program have to open the 2019 camp?
Lofthouse: I would say we’re at the 120 to 130 mark when you add up everybody in the program, Freshmen, JV, and Varsity. I’ll know more once we get everybody cleared with all the physical paperwork and I know a few kids who are still on vacation and will be getting here. So probably after the first week or so we’ll have a more official answer of how many guys are in the program, but I think it’ll be right around 125-130.
Q: Who is on your coaching staff, who is returning and who are the new additions?
Lofthouse: For the most part we remain the JV/Varsity staff that’s pretty much intact. There are a couple new guys; there’s Jesse Sosebee, he goes by ‘Boomer’, he is our assistant offensive line coach with Coach Albers. He played at the University of Washington and played high school ball at Edison. A very good player, he’s got a lot of knowledge and our kids are learning a lot from him. We added another veteran, our defensive backs coach Grant Frum. He was at El Toro for a number of years as a DB coach and has really good knowledge; really good experience. Then Sean White, our varsity D-line coach, he was at Capo Valley for a long time, he’s coached at El Toro, Aliso, Trabuco – he’s been coaching D-line for a while. And then there’s Ray de Avila, he was the quarterbacks coach at Orange Coast Community College so he’s now with us as QB coach. A lot of the guys we brought on are older coaches with a lot of experience. I tried to get some of these guys when I first got hired but they were already committed to their (previous) programs. Now, it’s good for us to get them because we have a lot of good coaches out there.
Q: Where are you in the first week of 2019 compared to where the program was a year ago?
Lofthouse: Oh, wow! Well, we’ve made a lot of growth, that’s for sure. From an athletic standpoint, I think we’re bigger, stronger, faster than we were last year. A lot of that is thanks to coach Eddie Steele, our strength and conditioning coach. He’s actually a new guy on staff I forgot to mention. Coach Steele’s been amazing in terms of just helping us improve from a mental toughness standpoint to physically being bigger, stronger, and faster. In terms of playbooks, offensive and defense, I mean, we’re light years ahead. Just being able to now have an entire year to get the kids to submerge themselves in the offense and defense and special teams, they’re way further along. Last year we were just scrambling to get the kids to learn some fundamentals, basic concepts and formations, things you didn’t think you had to coach up. Now, we’re going in to week one of fall camp and we’re actually starting on Woodbridge. Because we had spring ball, summer ball and a full year of training we’re already in to game planning for opponents, which is huge.
Q: At the outset, what’s is your perceived strength of this team?
Lofthouse: I think right now, we’ve got a lot of kids returning at the skill spots on the defense. I think we’ve got a lot of strength there. We return almost everybody in the secondary, all the starters and guys we were really high on last year are back, so that’s a position of strength. We return two All-Sunset League linebackers in Chad Koste (Sr) and Johnny Brigandi (Sr). Brendan Duffy (Sr) started at safety for us last year and this year he’s now playing at the linebacker spot and he’s looking really good there. I really think the linebacking corps has a chance to be really, really talented and the secondary to match it. At the skill spots on offense we’re really strong as well. We’ve got athletic and very complimentary receiving corps that’s really good as well. I think if we can stay physical up front we’ll have a chance to spread the ball around the field. (All Sunset Leaguer) Aidan Goltz (Sr) is a really good receiver, we’ve seen it, but last year we had a lot of teams just double-team him and limit his impact. This year some of our other skill kids have worked so hard in the weight room, worked so hard on their speed, on their agility and on their hands, they’ve really bought in. Guys like Mason Walker (Sr), and Jake Keliikoa (Sr), and James Crowell (Jr) and even Michael Morrison (Sr) and Austin Muro (Sr) coming over from defensive side to work some at receiver on offense has really made this whole aspect of depth at the receiving position a real strength for us. We have experienced talent at running back with Justin McCoy (Jr) and Brigandi will work in there too.
Q; You have a quarterback with some experience and a transfer quarterback as well. What is the situation at the QB position?
Lofthouse: Last year one of the problems for us was we really didn’t know who the trigger man was going to be. There was a lot guys that were green at the QB spot. This year, with Cole Lavin (Jr) returning and Nick Kim (So) as a transfer and being with us all summer, the QB spot is really a position of strength for us. We like both a lot. Unfortunately, Nick, because of the transfer, has to sit out the first five games, but when he is eligible, we’ll have two capable quarterbacks. They’re both very good and the best part is they’ve both become very close friends. They cheer each other on, help each other in film sessions, they help each other on the field. The chemistry with those two guys has been great.
Q: On the personal side, how are you settled into your position as Head Coach after your first year on the job?
Lofthouse: My wife and I are in Lake Forest now but looking to move up here closer to the school. That’s still a goal of ours. I finally got my teaching credential so I’m no longer in school. Last year I had to do school and coach, which was a unique challenge in itself. Now that school’s done and I’m able to just focus on being a teacher and focus on my football team, that’s an element I’m very comfortable with. I’m fulltime here (at NHHS), I’m teaching health, and I’ve got to thank Principal Bolton and the administration here. They really helped me with setting up a schedule that enables me to teach and coach and be here on campus all the time. This year’s completely different from last year.
Q: What are your expectations at the outset of the 2019 season?
Lofthouse: I think this group definitely has the ability to make the playoffs. If they continue to work hard, I think that’s a very achievable goal. And when you get to the playoffs, it really just comes down to how well you’re prepared and who you get matched up with. I believe that the boys, if they continue to work hard like they have, in the weight room, on the field, with the film, and taking care of their bodies and all that stuff, I think it’s realistic to believe they can make the playoffs and be very competitive in league – more so than maybe people give them credit for. Right now, we just gotta beat Woodbridge.
–Matt Morrison