Sailors Spoil Fountain Valley Homecoming, 49-0
Newport Harbor took advantage of four Fountain Valley turnovers, a shutout defensive effort and an impressive performance by quarterback AJ Guitron-Moore making his first varsity start as the Sailors spoiled the Barons’ homecoming 49-0 Friday night at Cap Sheue Field in Huntington Beach.
The victory snaps a four game losing streak as Harbor improves to 1-1 in Sunset League play, 2-5 overall. It’s the sixth straight loss for Fountain Valley after a season-opening win; the Barons drop to 0-2 in the league standings.
“It felt like we were getting our rhythm and hitting our stride,” said Harbor head coach Peter Lofthouse. “I think there’s a lot of kids with a lot of confidence after tonight.”
Guitron-Moore made the most of his first starting opportunity, hitting on 19 of 23 pass attempts for 271 yards and four touchdowns. After the teams traded turnovers on each of their first possessions, Harbor struck quickly on a three-play drive, all Guitron-Moore completions including a 37-yard touchdown to junior Kashton Henjum for the first score of the game.
“I thought he threw the ball well. He made some good checks and reads,” Lofthouse said of his originally third-string senior QB. “He seemed to be very much in control and command of the offense. He definitely played well tonight and it was good to see him have that opportunity and play at a really high level and show what he was capable of doing.”
The Sailors were steady on a second quarter 12-play drive covering 74 yards with runningback Payton Irving punching it in from three yards out for a 14-0 Harbor lead. Guitron-Moore completed five passes on the possession including a clutch 11-yard reception by Henjum for a 4th down & 8 conversion.
Middle linebacker Robby Crowell spearheaded the NHHS defense on the next two Fountain Valley possessions. His crushing sack on the quarterback forced a fumble that sophomore lineman Cameron Denoon scooped up and rumbled 16 yards to the end zone. Crowell then intercepted a deflected pass with a nifty 30 yard return to thwart the Barons once again. The Sailors led 21-0 at half.
“The defense was flying around, they really dialed in on their pass attack,” Lofthouse said. “As the game began to run away, they were forced to throw the ball against us and that’s why those turnovers happened. When we began to score off those turnovers, it was just a snowball affect.”
Third quarter scores on pass plays of 52 yards to Henjum, 24 yards to Duke Starnes and five yards to runningback Hayden Farley put the game out of reach. Sophomore runningback Henry Slater added a tough 3-yard touchdown run late to produce the 49-0 final score.
Henjum finished with 7 catches for 93 yards and two scores. Sophomore Josiah Lamarque is credited with 2 receptions for 33 yards and 19 yards on one rushing attempt, though he thrilled the crowd with a spectacular 73-yard catch and run to the goal line that was nullified by a penalty.
Linebacker Connor Cheiner had a first quarter interception off a Jacob Carlon pass deflection to aid the defensive effort and sophomore linebacker Tanner Muir recovered a FV fumble on a third quarter kickoff return.
“I told them we’ve got to take this energy in to practice next week and continue to get better,” Lofthouse said with an eye on the bigger picture. “It comes down to a three-game season. If we can beat Huntington Beach, we’re going to put ourselves in position for the Battle of the Bay to hopefully get that third seed in the league and an automatic bid to the playoffs.”
The Sailors host Huntington Beach next Friday night for the annual Newport Harbor Homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm at Davidson Field.
– Matt Morrison