Football: Sailors fall in first round

LAS FLORES — Anthony Battista has played against Newport Harbor High before in a football game. Last year, he served as the backup tailback at Corona del Mar and received eight carries in the Battle of the Bay rivalry against the Sailors.

A lot has changed in one year. Battista is no longer at CdM and no longer a backup.

He transferred before his junior year to Tesoro, and unfortunately for the Sailors they had to face Battista in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section West Valley playoffs. Battista ran up and down the field, producing four touchdowns in the first half to lead No. 4-seeded Tesoro to a 52-14 rout at home on Friday.

By halftime, Battista’s night was done. He rushed eight times for 132 yards and three touchdowns, and caught two passes for 69 yards and one touchdown. His longest play came on a screen pass, taking it 60 yards for a touchdown. He also recorded runs of 56 and 44 yards.

The Titans (9-2) ran away from Newport Harbor (5-6), easily advancing to the quarterfinals to meet Vista Murrieta (9-2) next week. Battista’s speed and elusiveness created problems for the Sailors, who suffered a 38-point setback, matching the program’s worst loss in 23 postseason trips under Coach Jeff Brinkley.

“There was a reason they were in Division 1 last year,” Brinkley said of the Titans, who moved into the newly created West Valley Division this year, a year after they reached the quarterfinals of the Pac-5 Division playoffs. “They played faster than we did, different tempo. If we’re ever going to compete in this division, you know, you got to learn to play at that speed. It’s something that we’ll have to work on.

“I don’t know [if we belong in this division, which is equivalent to Division 2]. That’s [for] CIF to decide. Obviously the scores from [our first-round game and Los Alamitos’ 59-21 loss to El Toro on Thursday] haven’t shown that. Both teams give up 50.”

The Sailors are one-and-done in the playoffs. Last year, they reached the Southwest Division finale, Brinkley’s eighth section championship game.

This season, Brinkley, in his 29th season at Newport Harbor, has watched his team surrender too many points. Going into Friday, the Sailors allowed an average of 35.2 points per game.

Tesoro topped that mark with two minutes left in the first half. Seventeen seconds after Newport Harbor quarterback Cole Norris hit wide receiver Jack Rapillo for a 14-yard touchdown pass, Matt Buoncristiani returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, giving Tesoro a 38-7 lead.

Special teams let the Sailors down. They expected to get the ball on the ensuing kickoff, but Tesoro recovered the ball on the Sailors’ 16. A play later, quarterback Devon Modster threw the first of his two touchdowns. The scores came in a 78-second span, a 16-yarder to wideout Carter Jaenichen and then a 60-yarder to Battista.

With 27 seconds left before halftime, Tesoro led, 52-7. If not for Norris’ second touchdown pass to Rapillo, a 61-yarder in the third quarter, giving Rapillo six catches for 127 yards, Newport Harbor would have set a record for the most lopsided loss in its playoff history.

“It’s sad to go out this way,” said Brinkley, who hoped the careers of his seniors would end much differently.

Norris, bound for Northern Arizona, is one of those seniors Brinkley felt for afterward. Norris completed 13 of 22 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 6,955 yards and 73 touchdowns through the air during his three-year career. The passing yards are one shy of the No. 7 spot for a career in Orange County history, and the passing touchdowns are one off the No. 6 spot in county history.

Norris’ season and that of his team was over quickly because of an old rival’s impressive first-half performance.

“He played well tonight,” Brinkley said of the 5-foot-9, 175-pound Battista. “I don’t really follow him.”

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Tesoro 52, Newport Harbor 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Newport 0 – 7 – 7 – 0 — 14

Tesoro 21 – 31– 0 – 0 — 52

FIRST QUARTER

T – Battista 11 run (Matlin kick), 3:16.

T – Battista 4 run (Matlin kick), :24.

T – Modster 4 run (Matlin kick), :00.

SECOND QUARTER

T – Battista 3 run (Matlin kick), 8:24.

T – Matlin 29 FG, 4:22.

NH – Rapillo 14 pass from Norris (Schultz kick), 2:17.

T – Buoncristiani 80 kickoff return (Matlin kick), 2:00.

T – Jaenichen 16 pass from Modster (Matlin kick), 1:55.

T – Battista 60 pass from Modster (Matlin kick), :27.

THIRD QUARTER

NH – Rapillo 61 pass from Norris (Schultz kick), 7:40.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

NH – Gaddis, 15-44.

T – Battista, 8-132, 3 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

NH – Norris, 13-22-0, 195, 2 TDs.

T – Modster, 10-14-0, 130, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

NH – Rapillo, 6-127, 2 TDs.

T – Battista, 2-69, 1 TD.