Prep football: Out of the blocks ... and tackles

Barry Faulkner

The Labor Day Weekend is still nearly two weeks away, but the

practical end of summer arrives today for football players and coaches at

the Four Newport-Mesa District high schools, with the beginning of fall

practice.

Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Estancia and Newport Harbor all kick off

the prescribed three-day conditioning period in helmets, T-shirts and

shorts, before players will be cleared to don full gear for Thursday’s

workouts.

For the first time since 1986, Jeff Brinkley’s debut campaign at

Newport Harbor, there are new coaches at two Newport-Mesa programs,

though one, Dave Perkins, is hardly an unfamiliar face on the local

football scene.

Perkins moves across town from Estancia to Costa Mesa to take over for

Jerry Howell, while Jay Noonan, a longtime varsity assistant at several

schools, gets his first chance to run a varsity program at Estancia.

Brinkley begins his 16th season at the helm of the Sailors and Dick

Freeman begins preparation for his seventh season as CdM head coach.

Two-a-days, a term associated with the opening two weeks of practice,

is all relative when it comes to these four schools.

Corona del Mar plans to have two practices each day, while Newport

Harbor and Estancia will sandwich a special teams workout between

separate morning and afternoon practices.

Costa Mesa, on the other hand, will condense everything into one long

session, which will begin in the afternoon and extend into the evening.

Newport Harbor players will remain on campus from 7:30 a.m. to around

6 p.m. each day, shuffling from practices to meetings, with meals, breaks

and the program’s trademark weightlifting regimen mixed in.

CdM begins with a morning meeting at 8 a.m. and follows with a

defensive practice from 9-11 a.m. The Sea Kings then scatter, a change

from previous years when they remained on campus, and reconvene for the

same three-hour offensive meeting-practice routine, which will begin

around 4 p.m.

Estancia will open its 8 a.m. conditioning work with five “gassers” --

timed 200-yard sprints consisting of four consecutive 50-yard legs (up

and back) -- before breaking the day into separate sessions for offense,

defense and special teams. Each of those workouts will be preceded by a

chalk talk. The Eagles will remain on campus for their lunch break and

will share a team meal after their final practice concludes at 4 p.m.

Newport Harbor, Estancia and CdM are coming off playoff seasons, while

Costa Mesa is the only school to have won its final game last year.

The Sailors advanced to their fifth CIF Southern Section title game in

nine seasons last fall and, having won the section Division VI crown with

a 13-0-1 campaign in 1999, come off a school record 24 victories in

back-to-back seasons.

Preparation for the Tars’ Sept. 6 season opener against Orange

Lutheran includes an Aug. 31 scrimmage against visiting Mission Viejo at

10 a.m..

Estancia, 7-4 a year ago, made its first playoff appearance since

1995. Noonan’s Eagles will scrimmage Cabrillo of Long Beach Aug. 31 at 6

p.m. at Newport Harbor, in preparation for their Sept. 6 season opener

against Magnolia.

CdM, 5-6 a year ago when its third straight first-round playoff loss

extended a three-game season-ending losing streak, will renew its unique

three-way scrimmage arrangement with Villa Park and Pacifica, Aug. 31 at

2 p.m. at El Modena High. The Sea Kings open the regular season Sept. 7

against Cypress.

Costa Mesa, which broke a school record postseason run of four years

last season, despite earning a 6-4 record, are scheduled to host Orange

for an Aug. 31 scrimmage at 6 p.m. Perkins’ inaugural regular-season game

as the Mustangs head man will be Sept. 7 against Saddleback.

Sage Hill, a private school which opened in Newport Coast last year

and will have no senior class, will field a junior varsity team this

season. Coach Tom Monarch’s Lightning, however, will play two varsity

opponents, which will be considered varsity games.

In addition to football, girls volleyball, girls tennis, boys water

polo, boys and girls cross country, as well as field hockey and girls

golf, may also begin practicing today.