Dana Hills dominates in win over Newport Harbor

DANA POINT - Dana Hills made another quick move for an upset Friday. And this time, the Dolphins maintained their tight grip.

Quarterback Josh Dean threw two first-half touchdowns and also ran for another score as host Dana Hills stunned No. 10 Newport Harbor, 41-7, in a nonleague game.

Dana Hills (3-1) led, 31-0, at halftime. On Sept. 17, the Dolphins also had a surprising lead at halftime over then third-ranked Edison by four points before losing, 34-17.

Edison, now No. 1 in the county, went on to beat Servite and Mater Dei in back-to-back games. Dana Hills was left with a bye week to think about Edison and prepare for the Sailors (3-1).

"We weren't going to let that happen again and we made sure of that tonight," Dana Hills defensive end Zach Alario said. "We had two weeks to practice and we came out and this game was personal for us.

"We lost to them by one point (25-24) last year. There was no way we were going to lose to them again."

With Newport Harbor coach Jeff Brinkley aiming for his 200th victory at the school, Dana Hills dominated on both sides of the ball.

Dana Hills opened the game with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Dean capped the trek with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Crowley, who out-jumped two defenders in the end zone.

Dana Hills ran the ball on the first nine plays of the drive, using wide out Chris Kearney heavily on sweeps.

"I thought we had the edge on the perimeter speed," second-year Dana Hills coach Brent Melbon said of the wide running plays. "We've sprinkled it in (before) but not like that."

After the Dolphins' defense held, Kearney returned a punt 32 yards to the Sailors' 34. Cole Altuzarra then capped a short drive with 3-yard touchdown run, his first of two scoring runs.

Rushing mostly behind the all-senior line of Jordan McNaughton, Kevin Martzolf, Nicholas Kaspar, Garrett Yocom and Thomas Schupbach, the Dolphins racked up 248 yards on the ground.

The Dolphins' offense showed its versatility in the second half by using a short passing game during a 71-yard scoring drive on its first possession of the third.

Dana Hills' defense also shined. The Dolphins collected six sacks and held the Sailors to 141 yards of total offense.

Alario recorded two sacks, a fumble recovery and a tackle for a loss.

Newport Harbor running back Cedric Whitaker snapped the shut out with a 12-yard with 3:26 left in the third. Whitaker finished with 66 yards because of the sacks, Newport Harbor finished with 28 yards rushing.

After the game, a few Dana Hills players dumped water bottles on Melbon, a former assistant coach at Corona del Mar — Newport Harbor's Back Bay rival.

"I'm just real proud of the kids – they've worked real hard," Melbon said. "It's a satisfying win. It gives us some belief going forward that we can play and we can win against good football teams. ... We played four good quarters of football."