Newport Harbor still can't figure out Long Beach Poly

LONG BEACH - The good news: Even against the No. 2 team in the state, Newport Harbor's special teams still looked plenty special. The bad news: everything else.

For the third time in just over a year, Long Beach Poly wiped out the Sailors. The Jackrabbits held Newport Harbor without an offensive score, winning 26-2, Friday at Long Beach City College.

"You've got to play your best, and you can't make a mistake," Sailors coach Jeff Brinkley said of playing Poly. "If you get down there (near the goal line), you've got to get it into the end zone."

The Sailors got there once. Ten plays into a 59-yard drive, with less than a minute remaining in the first half, Newport Harbor had a fourth down and goal, a few inches shy of the goal line. Brinkley called for a pile-pushing quarterback sneak, but, "We just didn't get any push up front," he said. The 2-0 Jackrabbits' massive defensive line gang-tackled quarterback Andrew McDonald for no gain, and the Sailors (1-1) never came close again, managing only one first down in the second half.

"They really have a pride about stopping people down there," Poly coach Raul Lara said of his defense. "I hate practicing against them, because we can't accomplish anything."

A bigger, faster Poly team held Newport Harbor to 3 yards rushing on 13 carries. McDonald threw for 108 yards and two interceptions, on 15-of-23 passing. Last season, Poly (2-0) won 34-9 in September and 35-14 in the playoffs. This time, the Sailors defense held up fairly well, except when Melvin Richardson (165 yards on 14 carries) had the ball.

The Jackrabbits' 5-foot-10, 210-pound running back was too strong and too quick, rushing for 165 yards on 14 carries. Would-be tacklers merely bounced off him on a 68-yard touchdown run, while he ran past other defenders who looked like commuters flailing at a passing train.The Sailors' lone score, a safety, came when a Poly snap flew over punter David Skara's head and Skara had to fall on it in the end zone with Sailor defenders closing in. Also on special teams, Newport junior Cecil Whiteside blocked an extra point, and senior Michael Helfrich had a pair of flying ankle tackles on punt coverage and a 38-yard kickoff return that prevented punt returners from doing any more than catching the ball.

Helfrich also had a 38-yard kickoff return, while J.B. Green returned a kick 48 yards. into Jackrabbit territory."Hopefully, we can keep doing that well and improve on some of the things we faltered on tonight," Brinkley said.

Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com