Game Plan

Patrick Laverty Estancia Coach Craig Fertig came out to practice Tuesday in Bear Bryant's houndstooth hat, given to Fertig by the former Alabama coach himself, and gave his football team a history lesson about one of the winningest coaches in college history before telling his players what Bryant would have said to the Eagles. "There's two things in football," Fertig said, mimicking Bryant. "When things are not going good, you block and you tackle."

Barry Faulkner Parker Collins has neither sought nor discovered the key to the conscious mind some use to lock out distractions during competition. As such, the former Corona del Mar High tennis standout, now a senior on the No. 3-ranked USC Trojans, absorbs, perhaps even attracts, every element of oppressive atmosphere that can envelope a match. In a sport where ego can fend off opponents as effectively as polished ground strokes, Collins often spends changeovers volleying with self-doubt.

Barry Faulkner COSTA MESA - While the three-day conditioning period which precedes full gear Thursday can be considered a glorified chalk talk, Costa Mesa High football coach Jerry Howell says there is a big difference from spring practice. "It's much more intense than spring, because you have a game plan," said Howell, who will endure the final day of helmets, T-shirts and shorts today with his 68 varsity and junior varsity athletes. "We try to do as much conditioning as we can, without hurting the kids.

Barry Faulkner IRVINE - When it has been 12 years since the last Sea View League championship and that drought had been seasoned by four straight runner-up finishes, it's probably OK to dance and hug on the floor before the final buzzer. At least no one seemed to mind Wednesday night, when the Newport Harbor High boys basketball players began cavorting in celebration of their commanding 54-40 triumph over host Woodbridge, the two-time defending league champion which had claimed four of the previous six crowns.

Joseph Boo CORONA DEL MAR - Now this is more like an early-round playoff game. Corona del Mar High's boys volleyball team got an opportunity to rest the wounded and try out new combos Tuesday in a CIF Southern Section Division I second round playoff game against visiting Channel Island, and the Sea Kings managed a 15-8, 15-13, 15-8 rout of the Raiders. CdM advances to Friday's quarterfinal game at El Toro. CdM, the No. 3 seed, used all but one of its players, Stanford-bound setter Kevin Hansen.

Steve Virgen COSTA MESA - If the Orange Coast College football team is looking for confidence, it should look no further than last year's Pirates. As they attempt to break out of their four-game losing streak today, the Bucs are desperately seeking confidence, a valued trait last year's squad held on its way to a Mission Conference Central Division co-championship. Those Bucs overcame a three-game losing streak that included just one offensive touchdown.

Barry Faulkner CORONA DEL MAR - The recent wave of CIF Southern Section girls soccer playoff dominance displayed by the Mission League solidified, once again, into an insurmountable hump Tuesday for Division IV semifinal host Corona del Mar High. Despite predictions by CdM Coach Ron Evans that his team would avenge back-to-back semifinal losses to Mission League representatives, top-seeded Harvard-Westlake, which claimed a share of the circuit's fifth straight section crown last year, prolonged the final four frustration with a 3-1 victory.

Patrick Laverty The Newport Harbor High boys basketball team went from playing a near-perfect game for three quarters to the brink of one of their worst losses of the season Wednesday in a Sea View League game against visiting Irvine. The important thing for the Sailors is they won the game. But sometimes a win doesn't always leave a good taste and Harbor Coach Larry Hirst definitely left the court looking for more from his team. Newport Harbor had a 27-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Vaqueros, winless in league play, cut the margin to as few as two points with under a minute to play in the game.

Steve Virgen In a matter of four weeks, he has become the poster boy of UC Irvine athletics. He has become the superstar of the surprise story of the year at Anteaterland. Jimmy Pelzel should take a bow. He should do a dance, maybe even take a Sharpie and sign his name on a volleyball. But, that's not his style. First of all, there are 16 regular-season matches remaining. But most importantly, Pelzel won't take all of the credit. He wants his teammates to grab all the attention.

Barry Faulkner Lewis Bradshaw may not be the Estancia High football team's most indispensable player, but he is, arguably, its best. So, when the 6-foot-3, 183-pound senior quarterback-reciever-safety-punter was sidelined with a shoulder injury while covering the opening kickoff Friday against Katella, it's fair to say Coach Jay Noonan's game plan also suffered a severe dislocation. Dislocation may be too severe a word to describe the trauma sustained by Noonan's shoulder when he was, Noonan said, "nudge blocked" just seconds into the Eagles' 34-0 nonleague loss to the Knights.

COSTA MESA — Coach Jim Huffman believed no one gave his Estancia High girls’ volleyball team a chance. The Eagles’ opponent, Huntington Beach, in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs gave him a reason to think so. “Their coach was talking to our announcer. This is how much he knew they thought they were going by us,” Huffman said. “[The coach] said, ‘Yeah, you know, we’re doing this and this, so hopefully if we can make it to the finals,’ you know, [it was]

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FULLERTON — In the midst of seemingly ever-present construction on the Cal State Fullerton campus, the UC Irvine men's basketball team found itself with a useless blueprint Saturday night. Aiming to grind out points through structure, execution and synchronicity, the Anteaters instead encountered contentious, often unyielding defensive pressure. The result was a 75-60 win for the Big West Conference-leading Titans (16-4, 6-2 in conference), who, their coach said, played as well as they have all season.

CIF football title game plans unresolved (runs with Monday QBs)The day and site of the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship football game between Newport Harbor High and Valencia have yet to be determined, Newport Harbor Boys Athletic Director Eric Tweit said Sunday. The game had been scheduled for Friday, but could be moved to Saturday, depending on the availability of Orange Coast College's LeBard Stadium. Tweit said Tesoro, which will play Northwood in the CIF Division IX title game, is also attempting to play at OCC Friday night.

The Costa Mesa High football team, searching for its first win of the season, figured it might have problems against defending Golden West League champion Westminster Friday night. Helping the Lions out with turnovers was not in the game plan. Westminster picked off four passes in the second quarter and returned two of them for touchdowns en route to a 47-6 league victory over Costa Mesa at Orange Coast College. On the first play in the second quarter, Costa Mesa's Ryan French threw a pass that went off the fingertips of Josh Lowe into the arms of Westminster's Adam Santana, who rambled 30 yards down the sideline to give the Lions a 20-0 lead.

Barry Faulkner Parker Collins has neither sought nor discovered the key to the conscious mind some use to lock out distractions during competition. As such, the former Corona del Mar High tennis standout, now a senior on the No. 3-ranked USC Trojans, absorbs, perhaps even attracts, every element of oppressive atmosphere that can envelope a match. In a sport where ego can fend off opponents as effectively as polished ground strokes, Collins often spends changeovers volleying with self-doubt.

Patrick Laverty The Newport Harbor High boys basketball team went from playing a near-perfect game for three quarters to the brink of one of their worst losses of the season Wednesday in a Sea View League game against visiting Irvine. The important thing for the Sailors is they won the game. But sometimes a win doesn't always leave a good taste and Harbor Coach Larry Hirst definitely left the court looking for more from his team. Newport Harbor had a 27-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Vaqueros, winless in league play, cut the margin to as few as two points with under a minute to play in the game.

Patrick Laverty Fighting for first place in the Pacific Coast League, the Corona del Mar High boys soccer team got a key victory over rival Northwood when senior midfielder Dominic Rubino scored the lone goal of the game in a 1-0 win. It was Rubino's first goal since the early weeks of the season, but he has been a consistent performer for the Sea Kings, regardless of his goal count, which Corona del Mar Coach Pat...

Patrick Laverty Sitting two games behind a trio of leaders in the Sea View League and thus, two games out of an automatic playoff berth, Newport Harbor High's football team has to understand the importance of Friday's game against Irvine. The Vaqueros (6-1, 2-0 in league), ranked fifth in the CIF Southern Section Division VI poll, are one of the three teams the Sailors (5-2, 0-2) are chasing and the quickest way back into the race would be to knock off one of the leaders.

Patrick Laverty Estancia Coach Craig Fertig came out to practice Tuesday in Bear Bryant's houndstooth hat, given to Fertig by the former Alabama coach himself, and gave his football team a history lesson about one of the winningest coaches in college history before telling his players what Bryant would have said to the Eagles. "There's two things in football," Fertig said, mimicking Bryant. "When things are not going good, you block and you tackle."