Hasson spurs Newport Harbor in blowout victory

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor has one of the best receivers in the county in Landon Gyulay, but on Thursday night, it was a running back who delivered the big plays in a 33-3 nonleague victory against Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach.

Titus Hasson intercepted two passes, both of which led to scores, and rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

He helped turn a close game into a blowout at the start of the second half when he sprinted 52 yards untouched into the end zone, giving the Sailors (2-3) a 17-3 lead. Guess who set up the scoring drive? Hasson, when he picked off a Chase Caprio pass.

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OCVarsity Hot Shots from Thursday's football action

OCVarsity Fandemonium from Thursday's games

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"It (two interceptions) feels great. It was just like I dropped back, and he threw it right to me," said Hasson, who has gained 425 yards on 81 carries this season. "We just turned it up in the second half because the coaches got in our heads and told us to do it."

The Sailors didn't get off to a great start, failing to move the ball beyond their own 30 on their first three drives of the game, allowing the Mustangs to take a 3-0 lead with 2:24 left in the first quarter when Gavin Jerrigan kicked a 24-yard field goal.

But Mira Costa couldn't have done it without some help from the Sailors. Caprio threw two incomplete passes in a row for the Mustangs, giving Mira Costa a fourth-and-8 at the Newport Harbor 40, but the Sailors were called for a personal foul. That gave the Mustangs a new set of downs, which the eventually turned into a field goal.

But the Sailors pulled ahead on their first possession in the second quarter when Hasson scored on a 2-yard run, and they took a 10-3 advantage into the half when Christian Ochoa booted a 20-yard field goal. Gyulay set up the kick after hauling in a 22-pass from Cole Blower as he got knocked to the ground by a couple Mira Costa defenders.

Gyulay almost dropped it, but he got an arm around as he laid on his back.