Sailors

CORONA DEL MAR — Do not ask Newport Harbor High Coach Bill Barnett what his record is in the Battle of the Bay in girls' water polo. He has been a part of so many against Corona del Mar that it is hard to keep track of the wins and losses. The longtime coach is sure of one thing every time the Sailors and Sea Kings meet in the pool. "[It's] always a one-goal game," Barnett said with a grin. Barnett could smile on Friday night because he was on the winning side of another nail-biter with the Sea Kings.

In his locker, several photos of an offensive left tackle are on display for Steve Michaelsen to see. The biggest is a high school magazine cover of Kyle Murphy, whose job Friday night is to keep Michaelsen off the quarterback. Michaelsen isn't the one who hung up all the pictures of Murphy. Newport Harbor defensive line coach Danny Pulido put them up at the start of the week. At first, Michaelsen laughed to himself when he first saw the San Clemente senior in his locker. Pulido finds ways to push Michaelsen, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end. The scouting report on Murphy is also in the locker.

GIRLS' WATER POLO Newport Harbor 15, Riverside Poly 2 NEWPORT BEACH — Kailyn Obenauer and Carly Christian each scored three goals as the Sailors won their nonleague regular-season finale Friday at Newport Harbor High. Catherine Carpenter, Presley Pender and Elissa Schilling each scored twice for Newport Harbor, still playing without junior Maddy McLaren (rib injury) and also missing senior Mary Rose Wight (flu). Tars senior goalkeeper Sarah Wilkey recorded 10 saves.

Ernie Johnson used many motivational speeches when he coached the Newport Harbor High football team in 1970. Motivation was sorely needed. There hadn't been anything to really cheer about for 28 years. One of the speeches that seemed to stick out for many during that season was when he reminded the Sailors how the opponent felt about Newport Harbor. To paraphrase, Johnson said the other players were thinking they weren't about to be beat by some "beach (expletive). " The nickname fired up the Sailors during their championship season.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL Tournament of Champions SANTA BARBARA — Cody Caldwell had 26 kills, two aces and seven digs to lead Newport Harbor High past rival Corona del Mar, 25-22, 25-13, 25-17, in the quarterfinals Friday. Rusty Sary added 14 kills and Ian Sequeira had 37 assists and two blocks for Newport Harbor (16-6), which will face Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach in the semifinals Saturday at 10:45 a.m. The Sailors beat Long Beach Wilson in the first round, 25-14, 19-25, 25-15, 25-16.

Newport Harbor High incoming sophomore Samantha Stalder won't play for the girls' tennis team this season, her mother, Diane, said Friday. Stalder played at No. 1 singles last year as a freshman for the Sailors. She made it to the quarterfinals of the Sunset League individuals tournament and is ranked No. 91 in Southern California girls' 16s by the United States Tennis Assn. The issue, Diane Stalder said, stems from the fact that her daughter wouldn't be able to make all of the practices for the Sailors this year as she trains with her private coach.

BOYS' SOCCER Newport Harbor 2, Edison 1 HUNTINGTON BEACH - Seniors Brice Manning and Christian Ochoa scored second-half goals as Newport Harbor upset the defending league champions on the road Friday. Manning scored unassisted in the 45th minute, while Ochoa scored the game-winner in the 61st minute on Felix Villavicencio's assist. Newport senior goalie Rudy Reyes made five saves. Coach Juan Mares said senior Omar Gonzalez and junior Kevin Gomez helped anchor the defense in the second half, after Edison had took the lead in the fifth minute of the game.

  GIRLS' TENNIS   Lightning Invitational NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High senior Blake Bakkila earned singles MVP honors to pace the Sailors to the team title at the two-day tournament completed Saturday at The Tennis Club Newport Beach. Bakkila swept four singles matches to help the Sailors finish 4-0 in the five-team, round-robin format. The Tars defeated Sage Hill, 7-2, Tesoro, 7-2, Cerritos, 9-0, and Santa Ynez, 9-0. Annie Radeva, Megan Bathen and Kate Knight earned all-tournament honors from Newport Harbor.

The Newport Harbor High football team lost more than a game at San Clemente on Friday night. After the Sailors suffered a 24-12 loss on the field, they walked to the visiting locker room to change and gather their belongings. Sam Bush, a left tackle, said missing from players' bags were cell phones and mp3 players. "We just walked into the locker, only to find out that our stuff was stolen," Bush said. "Coming off … a loss, it's never easy. It just sent me over the edge.

NEWPORT BEACH — The defensive coordinator wasn't there Thursday night for the Newport Harbor High football team. Tony Ciarelli was in the hospital recovering from successful knee surgery, Coach Jeff Brinkley said. He expects to be back at practice Monday. The Sailors defense, however, didn't skip a beat. Newport Harbor had two interceptions and posted its first shutout of the season in a 41-0 Sunset League victory over Marina at Newport Harbor High. It was a must-win game for the Sailors, who can clinch a CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoff berth by defeating Fountain Valley next week.

Travis Russell was on familiar territory, at least this side of the Pacific Ocean, as he followed Estancia High's Jake Knapp during the U.S. Open local qualifying round at Newport Beach Country Club last week. Russell, who twice earned all-league recognition at Newport Harbor, spent his freshman and sophomore college years at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. But he is in the middle of getting paperwork finalized for his transfer to UC Irvine. Russell said he won't lose a year of eligibility, making him able to join Coach Paul Smolinski and the Anteaters as soon as possible.

Friends and family gathered at the Redondo Beach Pier on Tuesday to celebrate the lives of the four sailors who died during last month's Newport-to-Ensenada race, the Orange County Register reported . "Standing here on the pier, you get a sense of what they felt out there: powerful and grounded, while the rest of the watery world sloshes and splashes beneath their feet," said speaker Anna Mavromati, 24, whose father, Theo Mavromatis, was...

The Newport Harbor High boys' basketball program is close to hiring a new coach, said Michael Vossen, the school's principal, in a text message on Friday. "Nothing finalized yet, but hope to be wrapped up by next week," Vossen said. The school has moved forward since it reinstated the program last month after suspending it for three weeks because of criminal threats made against then-coach Larry Hirst and his wife. Newport Harbor has three finalists to replace Hirst, said sources close to the situation, who asked for anonymity.

NEWPORT BEACH - Coach Steve Astor said there is one boys' volleyball team Newport Harbor High has wanted to play all season. The Sailors earned a shot to face that team. Newport Harbor gets to see Dana Hills after the host Sailors swept Ventura, 27-25, 25-14, 25-16, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs on Tuesday. While Astor said the site of Thursday's second-round matchup between the Sailors (22-8) and Dolphins (29-4) would be decided by a coin flip on Wednesday morning, he doesn't care where the match is played.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - The Newport Harbor High boys' lacrosse team, the No. 12 seed, upset No. 5 St. Margaret's, 8-7, to open the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs Tuesday. It was the Sailors' first playoff win since 2009, as they avenged their widest margin loss of the regular season (14-6, from early March, also played in SJC). The win puts Coach Mark Todd's team into the second round of the playoffs in his second year. Down 4-2 at halftime, the Sailors (10-8)

Newport Harbor High running back Titus Hasson and defensive end Steve Michaelsen, Corona del Mar wide receiver Josh Giger and Estancia defensive tackle Alipa Peters are the four Newport-Mesa seniors named on Monday to the 53rd Brea Lions Club Orange County North-South All-Star Football game at Orange Coast College on July 6. The four local players will represent the South All-Star team. Hasson and Michaelsen led Newport Harbor (5-6, 3-2 in Sunset League) to the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs.

Sailors reflected on their sport's ever-present dangers as they returned from Ensenada on Monday, two days after fellow competitors perished in an apparent collision. The tragedy reminded them to sail with experienced crew members and craft a careful night watch plan, local racers and experts say. The three confirmed deaths were the first in the 65-year history of the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race. A fourth crew member of the Aegean, the doomed 37-foot sloop from Long Beach, is still missing and presumed dead.

The closest any team has come to Corona del Mar High in a boys' lacrosse contest was two goals. And that Sea Kings' opponent was from out of state. No team was able to knock off CdM in the regular season. The Sea Kings (19-0) beat teams from as far as Colorado and the San Francisco Bay Area. In the next phase of the season, CdM plays teams from Southern California. Staying undefeated against them is far more important to the Sea Kings. Next for CdM is the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division Championship tournament, mostly made up of teams from Orange County.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL Corona del Mar def. Woodbridge CORONA DEL MAR — Junior opposite James Christian finished with eight kills as the Sea Kings got closer to repeating as undefeated Pacific Coast League champions with a 25-10, 25-11, 25-14 victory Friday. Joey Martino added five kills for CdM (20-6, 9-0 in league), ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 poll. The Sea Kings close out league play at home against University Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. * BASEBALL Corona del Mar 9, Irvine 0 CORONA DEL MAR — Senior Billy Macdonald threw a shutout in the Sea Kings' Pacific Coast League game Friday.

NEWPORT BEACH - Outside of the Newport Harbor High gym, a woman gave Huntington Beach Coach Craig Pazanti two gifts. She handed him special drinks. "I don't know what it is," Pazanti said of the yellow liquid in the plastic bottles. "I don't ask either. " Pazanti likes the drink so much he could've bathed in it Friday night. It was time for him and his boys' volleyball team to celebrate. The Oilers preferred a drink made of mangoes, peaches and oranges to Gatorade after they rallied to win the outright Sunset League title.