Vaqueros

COSTA MESA — On the first five Rancho Alamitos possessions of the game, the Costa Mesa High girls’ basketball team forced the Vaqueros into turnovers. Visiting Rancho Alamitos also went scoreless in a-more-than-10-minute stretch in the second half of Thursday night’s CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA first-round playoff game. Numbers aside, the intensity the Mustangs allowed Coach Jim Weeks to smile, which he did after Mesa won, 57-32. “When we play just solid defense, then we’re really tough,” said Weeks, whose No. 5-seeded team will play at No. 12-seeded St. Matthias of Downey on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the second round.

Bryce Alderton The score was 0-0 and the weather was wintry, but emotions ran at high temperatures in the suddenly burgeoning girls soccer rivalry between Newport Harbor and Irvine high schools this season, adding its latest chapter Tuesday. The Sailors (2-15-3, 1-5-2 in the Sea View League) and Vaqueros (8-6-4, 3-2-3) bumped each other, collided frequently and slipped across Davidson Field in a league game punctuated by physicality, and often, frustration.

Steve Virgen NEWPORT BEACH - After losing a 16-8 Sea View League baseball game to visiting Irvine High Friday, Newport Harbor Coach Joel Desguin aptly described his team's plight thus far this season. "Right now, it's just baby steps for us," the Sailors' first-year coach said. Newport (2-4, 0-2 in league) appeared to make huge strides when the Sailors were faced with a 10-1 deficit before they went to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Richard Dunn IRVINE - The institution of rally scoring in the fifth game of matches this season has not served Newport Harbor High well. "Rally scoring's a roll of the dice," Sailors girls volleyball coach Dan Glenn said. "A lot depends on a good start (in the fifth game)." With Irvine's Olivia Waldowski in the front row, the host Vaqueros raced to a 7-2 lead in the decisive fifth game as they defeated the Sailors, 15-8, in a Sea View League first-place showdown Tuesday night.

Tony Altobelli NEWPORT BEACH - The Newport Harbor High baseball team is going though a slump. Not at the plate, but with the glove. Five Sailor errors were not the lone reason for Newport's 16-2 Sea View League loss to visiting Irvine, but it sure didn't help much. "It's definitely not from a lack of practicing, that's for sure," Newport Coach Jim Kiefer said. "I think a lot of it has to do with concentration. The guys are going through performance anxiety out there and right now, it's spiraling out of control."

Tony Altobelli NEWPORT BEACH - The Newport Harbor High baseball team is going through a slump. Not at the plate, but with the glove. Five Sailor errors were not the lone reason for Newport's 16-2 Sea View League loss to visiting Irvine, but it sure didn't help much. "It's definitely not from a lack of practicing, that's for sure," Harbor Coach Jim Kiefer said. "I think a lot of it has to do with concentration. The guys are going through performance anxiety out there and right now, it's spiraling out of control."

COSTA MESA — Costa Mesa High Coach Jeremy Osso figures nothing loses football games more than mistakes, and simply cutting down on those is the key to victory. Friday it didn’t take long for the Mustangs to make their first mistake — about 1 minute, 38 seconds, actually. A botched punt attempt went for a safety and visiting Irvine scored a touchdown on its ensuing possession — and its next four after that — as the Vaqueros cruised to a 37-0 nonleague win at Orange Coast College.

Barry Faulkner IRVINE - Irvine High football coach Terry Henigan took the Vaqueros' winged helmet design from the University of Delaware, from which he also borrowed the wing T offense. But, since Irvine no longer runs the wing T, the logo has come to symbolize a swarming defense, for which the coaching adage "flying to the football," is hardly an exaggeration. Practitioner of the 46 defense Buddy Ryan made famous with the Chicago Bears of the mid 1980s, Irvine has allowed an Orange County-low 90 points this fall.

Barry Faulkner Newport Harbor High boys basketball coach Larry Hirst said Sailor coaches and players reviewed the video of Wednesday's Sea View League loss at Aliso Niguel as intensely as they have any game in recent memory. The video of Friday's 59-35 Sea View home triumph over Irvine, however, might just stay perched on the shelf. For, after opening a 17-0 lead, including a 15-0 cushion at the end of one quarter, the Sailors (10-8, 2-1 in league)

NEWPORT BEACH - The homecoming theme this year for Corona del Mar High is "Time Warp," and the Sea Kings football team obliged with retro uniforms for their 50th homecoming Friday night. The uniforms were light blue with dark blue numbers. By the end of the night, Corona del Mar just left visiting Irvine feeling black and blue. CdM was efficient on offense and stout on defense to earn the Pacific Coast League win, 35-0, at Newport Harbor High. Sea Kings Coach Scott Meyer talked to his team after the game about controlling its destiny.