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PLACENTIA — The helicopter landed at midfield, stirring the crowd as it shook the stadium at halftime. Newport Harbor High was not nearby, but it desperately needed its offense to be rescued.
Too bad the helicopter was for Esperanza’s homecoming festivities.
The Sailors came to Esperanza’s turf, Valencia High, trying to show that last year’s upset against the Aztecs in their return to the Sunset League was no fluke.
In four quarters Friday, the Aztecs demonstrated why they’re still unbeaten and the reigning league champs. The defense clamped down, stuffing everything the Sailors ran, threw, and even punted, coming away with a 28-7 dominating victory Friday night.
The only time Newport Harbor (5-2, 1-1) got an extra step was at the end, when players bolted for the bus. One player, staying behind, quarterback Andrew McDonald, still appeared shaken. A couple of times the junior lost his breath.
“We really couldn’t do anything offensively,” said McDonald, who threw for 73 yards and an interception on 6-of-18 passing.
The Aztecs (7-0, 2-0), ranked No. 10 in CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division, pressured McDonald throughout, sacking him three times, after stopping Newport Harbor’s best weapon of a year ago, running back Ben Frazier. The lanes never opened up for Frazier, making him feel like he was stuck in a grocery store on a busy day with only one register open.
No passing through for anyone with a Sailors’ uniform as Newport Harbor had only two first downs heading into the fourth quarter. By that time, the Aztecs led by 21, with their two running backs, Jared Moore and Reid Williams, closing in on 131 yards and 88 yards, respectively, each carrying the ball 21 times and combining for three TDs.
Quarterback Sean McDonald also ran, gaining 90 yards, but he was responsible for directing the deceptive wing-T offense, which ran the ball down Newport Harbor’s throat and chewed a lot of time off the clock.
Frazier, like the rest of the offense, could just observe from the sideline. He finished with zero yards. Twelve times he ran, getting tackled for losses five times, two went for no gain. This after the senior last year ran for 119 yards and one touchdown in the Sailors’ 21-13 win at home against Esperanza.
