Prep Football

Barry Faulkner COSTA MESA - Though victory continues to elude the Estancia High football team, the Eagles refuse to be defined by mounting losses. So, in the aftermath of Thursday's 40-13 defeat at the hands of postseason-bound Pacific Coast League rival University, the Eagles needed little time to put their hard-fought struggle with the Trojans in perspective. "Driving back to school from Uni, the whole team was singing on the bus, just as if we'd won," said first-year coach Jay Noonan, who is not about to discourage his players' desire to savor the experience high school football can provide, scoreboard notwithstanding.

Barry Faulkner COSTA MESA - Costa Mesa High football coach Dave Perkins said Friday he regrets and apologizes for his assertion Thursday night that Northwood ran an illegal play to run up the score during Northwood's 31-6 victory at Irvine High. "I got mad and I believe any coach would have been upset," Perkins said. "I don't think it was a planned play and I don't think they were trying to deceive us. I will apologize for that." Perkins said he also told his players Thursday night that his postgame conduct was wrong.

Barry Faulkner COSTA MESA - Only Estancia High junior Lewis Bradshaw's mother knows for sure. At least that is the theory subscribed to by Eagles football coach Jay Noonan, as to just how exacting the physical toll of playing nearly every play is on the 6-foot-3 189-pound team leader. "I don't believe he would have it any other way," Noonan said of Bradshaw, who triggers the veer option offense at quarterback, while also starting at outside linebacker.

Barry Faulkner It is not familial obligation, nor an obsession with the game that brings them together once a week for a few months each fall. But, since the early 1990s -- no one remembers the official point of origin -- they've been congregating under Friday night lights, savoring the untainted virtue of prep football, forging lasting friendships with one another and, basically, yelling themselves hoarse. At home or on the road, amid December drizzle or balmy late-summer sunsets, they arrive early, stand in unison for every kickoff, and lavish unyielding support upon teenagers they seldom, if ever, meet.

Barry Faulkner BREA - The movie studios would kill for the opening numbers the Newport Harbor High football program has put up for more than a decade. Coach Jeff Brinkley's Sailors put a 12-game winning streak in season openers, best in Orange County, on the line tonight when they face Orange Lutheran in a 7 o'clock nonleague battle at Brea Olinda High. That Harbor run includes a subsequent forfeit by Orange High in 1995, but the Sailors are expecting nothing to be given them by the Lancers, who have already raised the curtain on their season.

Newport Harbor High senior Billy Clayton and Estancia High senior Matt Mueller will be honored March 6 at the 13th annual National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame banquet recognizing 1999 prep football scholar-athletes. Clayton, a 6-foot-5 receiver and safety, was All-CIF Southern Section for the CIF Division VI champion Sailors, who finished 13-0-1. Clayton, who also plays volleyball and lettered in basketball, will play volleyball at Stanford next year.

Newport Harbor High, the No. 4 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division VI football playoffs, will square off against Kennedy in a 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal, scheduled Friday at Western High. Kennedy (8-3) upset host Villa Park Friday, 45-14, while the Sailors (9-2) topped Westminster, 41-7, at home. Kennedy shares Western's Handel Stadium with Western and Cypress. Western is home against Covina in a Division IX quarterfinal, while Cypress is on the road against Division VI top seed La Mirada.

CERRITOS - Though less than impressive in a 24-22 win over Westminster Friday night, unbeaten Costa Mesa jumped from No. 2 to the top spot in the CIF Southern Section Division IX poll released Monday by the section office. The Mustangs (3-0) were awarded the top spot after Brea Olinda, previously ranked No. 1, was toppled by Diamond Bar, 35-7, Friday. The poll is voted upon by Southern California media. Western, Sonora and Fullerton, Nos. 2-4, respectively, each moved up a spot, while Estancia, ranked No. 10 last week, fell out of the top 10 after a 24-7 loss to Canyon.

Newport Harbor High senior Robert Chai, a two-time All-CIF Southern Section offensive tackle who has signed to continue his football career next fall at UCLA, has been chosen to represent the South in the 51st Shrine All-Star Classic. Chai, a 6-foot-4, 270-pounder, is the only local among the 36 South players who will battle the best players from Northern California July 13 at Mount San Antonio College. Chai was named to the All-Southern Section team, chosen from players in the section's 13 divisions, after leading the Sailors to the Sea View League championship and a berth in the CIF Division VI semifinals.

Calvary Chapel vs. Costa Mesa When/where: Tonight, 7 at Estancia Key Mustangs: Sr. QB Todd Davis (1,165 yards and 11 TDs with two interceptions on 79 of 153 passing); Jr. LT Andrew Albers; Sr. WR-LB Brian Waldron (31 catches for 523 yards and four TDs). Breakdown: Costa Mesa (5-3, 2-0 in league) has won seven straight Orange Coast League games dating back to 2007 … Calvary Chapel (3-3, 0-1) dropped its league opener at Laguna Beach, 56-24 … Coach Jeremy Osso said the Mustangs’ No. 10 ranking in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll is the first time the program has been ranked in the CIF since 2003.

Steve Virgen Whenever there was an important football game for the Estancia High Eagles, Dave Jeranko became excited. He knew he would be a key player as the starting quarterback in an option offense. But what took place on the field wasn't the only reason he loved the games that had that playoff-type aura about them. Take the season-opening game against Edison, for example, in 1977. Edison was the powerhouse, the standard for most prep football teams.

Barry Faulkner NEWPORT BEACH - In the ever cyclical world of high school football, news faces are just part of the landscape. A familiar face, however, is among the "new" participants this spring for Newport Harbor High's Sailors. Assistant coach Tony Ciarelli, a key ingredient to the onset of extended Sailor postseason runs in the early 1990s, is back in the fold for Coach Jeff Brinkley, coordinating the defense after five seasons as head coach at Huntington Beach High.

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High senior Adam Kerns, an All-Newport-Mesa District and All-Sea View League wide receiver last fall, said Monday he will continue his football and academic career at the University of Puget Sound. Kerns committed to the Division III school after a visit in February. He is enrolled in the university's exclusive business school. Kerns caught a team-leading 29 passes for 627 yards (21.6 per catch) and 11 touchdowns and also shared the team lead with five interceptions as a senior.

Barry Faulkner NEWPORT COAST - The Sage Hill High football team, preparing for its first varsity season in 2002, is enjoying its first spring session. But, with six coaches overseeing just 19 players, it's more like a spring tutorial than the more traditional spring practice. "A lot of kids are getting a lot of one-on-one coaching," said Tom Monarch, who has guided the program from its inception in the fall of 2000. "As opposed to working seven-on-seven like most programs, we'll break down into individual positions.

Barry Faulkner COSTA MESA - Though there is no contact allowed, the Costa Mesa High football team is undergoing a bit of a crash course, as spring drills continue through June 7. The Mustangs, enjoying a greater comfort zone under second-year head man Dave Perkins, are learning on both sides of the ball, but focusing primarily on a return to the flex defense, which the team abandoned early in last year's 7-4 season....

Barry Faulkner COSTA MESA - This time last year, Jay Noonan was preparing his resume. This spring, he is relieved to be preparing his Estancia High football team for the 2002 season, his second at the school. Toward that end, as many as 70 players are wrapping up their first week of spring practice, enjoying the familiarity with the program in place and determined to turn around a winless record in 2001. "I've been very impressed with the enthusiasm, but the thing I notice most is how relaxed the kids seem," said Noonan, who was hired after the completion of a makeshift spring practice last season.

Barry Faulkner CORONA DEL MAR - With a nucleus of experienced returners, Corona del Mar High football coach Dick Freeman said leadership is abundant as the Sea Kings' continue the second of their three weeks of spring practice. But, Freeman said, it's the style of leadership being administered that pleases him most. "This is the best group of seniors we've had since 1995 (when the Sea Kings went to the CIF Southern Section Division V semifinals)," Freeman said.

Barry Faulkner Spring practice is usually about solidarity and schemes. If they accomplish nothing else, Newport-Mesa high school football coaches will be happy to come away from this year's spring drills, which begin today at Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa and Estancia, having initiated the bonding of their players and established the foundation of their offensive and defensive systems. Scheming and teaming will begin for Newport Harbor May 28, while Sage Hill, the new kid on the Newport-Mesa block, is already a week into drills in preparation for the 2002 season.

Barry Faulkner Newport Harbor High seniors Morgan Craig, Brian Gaeta and Jeff Marshall, as well as Corona del Mar senior standout Steven Russell, have been named to represent the South in the Orange County All-Star Football Game, scheduled July 12 at Orange Coast College. The four Back Bay stalwarts made the 36-player roster, selected by sportswriters working with South Coach Bob Johnson from Mission Viejo High. Craig, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback, was an All-CIF Southern Section selection last fall in Division VI, after leading the Sailors to the Sea View League championship and a berth in the CIF Division VI semifinals.