What was supposed to be a hard count, turned out to be an awfully
hard way to lose for the Newport Harbor High football team Friday
night.
But the Sailors didn't go down without first finding a miraculous
way to push visiting Mira Costa into overtime as the Mustangs came
away with a 23-20 nonleague triumph.
Newport Harbor went 84 yards on 12 plays after falling behind,
20-12, with 3:05 left to tie the game in dramatic fashion.
Tom Jackson's pass went into and out of the hands of Mira Costa
defender Kevin Romero at the Mustangs' 5-yard line, and Jarrett
Daniel hauled it in and ran into the end zone. The 36-yard scoring
play pulled the hosts (3-2), ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section
Division VI, to within 20-18.
Jackson then threaded the ball through to Daniel in the back of
the end zone to tie the game.
Mira Costa's final regulation possession produced little and the
Mustangs' offense opened the college-format overtime on offense at
the Sailors' 25.
The Mustangs moved to the 11, before a penalty moved them back 5
yards, forcing a 31-yard field goal by Romero that gave the visitors
the lead.
Newport used five plays in its overtime possession to reach the
Mustangs' 7, but was forced to try a 24-yard field goal attempt that
sailed wide left.
The win allowed Mira Costa, ranked No. 4 in CIF Division III, to
improve to 5-0.
But victory for the Mustangs may not have been possible without an
unusual miscue by the Sailors early in the fourth quarter.
Newport's defense had just held on fourth down to take possession
at its own 6. Three plays later, it was fourth-and-an-inch at the
Tars' own 15 and the offense broke the huddle, appearing poised to go
for the first down.
In reality, the call was for Jackson to bark a hard cadence, in an
attempt to draw Mira Costa offside.
"We wanted to freeze the ball and call a timeout, then maybe go
for the first with a sneak," Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley said.
After several seconds of barking signals however, the ball was
snapped, appearing to surprise Jackson, who fell backward for a
1-yard loss.
"We shot ourselves in the foot," Brinkley said of the play, which
set Mira Costa up on the Sailors' 14.
Two plays later, Charles Wolfgramm went up the middle for an
8-yard touchdown run and Romero, who took over kicking duties after a
missed conversion kick by another Mustang earlier in the game, booted
the conversion to give the visitors a 13-12 lead with 8:59 left in
regulation.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Sailors' bench on the
