Football: Newport Harbor Plays Huntington Beach Today for Title

Here's a look at the Southwest Division championship played today, along with the rest of the Saturday schedule.

Newport Harbor (8-5) vs. Huntington Beach  (8-5) at Angel Stadium, 2 p.m.—Two unseeded teams emerged from a wild division. Newport KO’d top-seeded La Habra, 49-48, in the second round, but Huntington Beach has been even more impressive. 

The Oilers, over the last four weeks, beat Newport in the Sunset League finale, 40-14, to position itself for an at-large berth, and followed with victories over second-seeded Yorba Linda (10-1), 31-14, San Juan Hills (10-2), 42-12, and third-seeded Edison (9-4), 28-12. The latter was especially impressive, having avenged a 48-6 loss to the Chargers on Sept. 11. 

Led by dual threat quarterback Kai Ross (28 TDs, 5 int.; 5.3 yards per carry, 9 TDs), he is exactly the kind of player who gives Newport Harbor trouble—he ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns, and passed for 86 in the 48-6 win. Basically, beginning with that game, Coach Eric Lo unleashed Ross because the team had nothing to lose, and he has played brilliantly. Ross has passed for 10 touchdowns and run for another in three playoff games. 

Newport Harbor will likely be motivated to avenge its earlier embarrassment, and the Sailors program has the advantage of having been in these games before; the Sailors coaching staff, led by Jeff Brinkley, knows what it's like to play at Angel Stadium and how to motivate at team as they try to win their fourth title in eight championship games. 

Quest Truxton had only two receptions for 45 yards in Newport Harbor’s loss to Huntington Beach, and one of those was 33-yard score; expect him to be a bigger force this time around. 

Cole Norris (58.7 percent, 2,722 yards, 25 TDs, 6 int.) was brilliant against La Habra in which he passed 63 times for five touchdowns, and Chance Siemonsma (5.8 yards per carry, 8 TDs) provides a competent ground game. 

SATURDAY, DEC. 7

Central Division

No. 2 Heritage (12-1) at No. 1 Rancho Verde (12-1), 7 p.m., Prep Zone

East Valley Division

No. 2 St. Margaret’s (12-1) at No. 1 Fontana Jurupa Hills (11-2), 7 p.m., Prep Zone

Northeast Division

No. 1 San Luis Obispo Mission Prep (11-2) at No. 3 L.A. Salesian (11-2), 7 p.m., Prep Zone

Northwest Division

No. 4 El Segundo (10-3) at No. 2 Ojai Nordhoff (12-1), 7 p.m., Prep Zone

Pac-5 Division

Bellflower St. John Bosco (13-0) vs. Mater Dei (11-2) at Angel Stadium, 8 p.m., Prime Ticket

Southeast Division

No. 1 Norwalk (13-0) vs. Whittier La Serna at Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m., Prep Zone

Southwest Division

Newport Harbor (8-5) vs. Huntington Beach (8-5) at Angel Stadium, 2 p.m., Prep Zone

Television/Internet Broadcasts

All games shown live at either Fox Sports West Prep Zone, Fox Sports West, or Fox Sports Prime Ticket 

Tickets: Adults ($10), Kids under 14 ($5), Students with valid ID ($5).

Angel Stadium Tickets (Stadium cleared after first game): Reserved ($15), Adult General Admission ($12), Kids under 14 GA ($5), Students with valid ID GA ($5).