Newport Harbor survives Woodbridge rally, advances to CIF Open Division final

Newport Harbor celebrates after Saturday’s semifinal victory. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

As two of the top teams in the CIF Southern Section battled it out Saturday afternoon at Newport Harbor, it was no surprise that the Open Division flag football semifinal game between Woodbridge and Newport Harbor would come down to the final minute of play to determine a winner.

With 57 seconds to play and the Warriors trailing by five points, a fourth-down pass by Woodbridge quarterback Delia Stone’was batted away in the end zone by Scarlett Guyser and the Sailors took over possession of the ball and ran out the clock to secure a 26-21 victory.

Newport Harbor advances to next Saturday’s final against undefeated and top-seeded JSerra at Huntington Beach. The Lions defeated Huntington Beach 34-6 on Saturday in a semifinal game. 

“Were excited to be going to the finals,” said Guyser, who completed 20 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. “We kept moving forward, even when we made mistakes, we kept moving forward.”

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Guyser threw a 3-yard TD pass to Skylie Cid on the final play of the first-half. However, Newport Harbor failed to convert the extra point and the Sailors took a 20-14 lead at the break.

The second half got off to a quick start. 

Following an interception by Naomi Tase early in the third quarter, the Warriors went on a six-play scoring drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Stone to Loghan Everett. Woodbridge added the extra point and took a 21-20 lead with 5:44 remaining in the quarter. 

Newport Harbor (23-4) drove to the Woodbridge 16-yard line on its following possession, but Laney Brucker recorded a sack on a third-down play and then Guyser’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete. The Warriors took over and the tide seemed to be turning in their favor.

However, Woodbridge’s drive stalled near midfield and Newport Harbor took possession and capitalized.  

On a third down play, Guyser took off running up the middle but just before her flag was pulled she lateraled the ball to Cid who raced the final 30 yards for a touchdown, giving the Sailors a 26-21 lead with 5:33 remaining in the game.

“That play wasn’t by design; the best part of it is that we made it up on the run; it was kind of our own design,” said Cid, a junior running back, who had six receptions and and two touchdowns.

Woodbridge (24-5) then embarked on a 15-play drive that was aided by two fourth-down conversions for first downs – one on a pass interference penalty against Newport Harbor and the other on a crucial 14-yard pass completion from play Stone to Everett, who made an excellent reception despite the ball being tipped. 

The Warriors had a first-down with the ball at the 16-yard line with 1:40 left to play. Stone completed a second down pass to Brucker to the 10-yard line.

On third down, Stone completed a pass to Everett but she was beyond the end line and the pass was ruled incomplete. Then on fourth down, Stone’s final attempt was batted away and Newport Harbor took control and ran out the clock to secure the win.

“It came down to the wire,” said Stone, who completed 29 passes for 229 yards and three touchdown passes. “We had a great season and it’s hard to lose a game like this.”

Stone, a sophomore, ended the season with 118 TD passes and 7,715 yards and also scored 20 touchdowns.

The Sailors and Woodbridge each scored a touchdown on their opening possessions and the score was tied 7-7 after the first quarter.

Jordan Sanders 13-yard TD run gave the Sailors a 14-7 lead at the 10:15 mark of the second quarter. 

The Warriors countered with a 12-play scoring drive that was capped off by a 13-yard TD pass, on a fourth-down play, from Stone to Tase. The junior wide receiver made a spectacular catch in the end zone to tie the score at 14-14. 

“We did our best and we kept pushing,” said the Warriors Tase. “We worked hard as a group and we made big plays and it’s been a great experience to be a part of this playoff run.”

Newport Harbor Coach Jason Guyser was thrilled with the victory.

“These are two of the best teams in Orange County and in California, said Guyser, whose team has won eight consecutive games and snapped the Warriors 17-game winning streak. “Their quarterback kept pressure on us by buying time and finding the open receivers. A few of our goals that we set this season was to win league and CIF and now we have a chance to do that.” 

“It feels amazing to be going to the finals,” said the Sailors Blakely Irvine, who had eight catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. “We’re excited. The key was that we stayed calm and maintained good communication.”

Warriors’ Coach Mark Thompson expressed his passion for his team following the game. 

“They left everything on the field,” said Thompson. “One or two plays either way and this is a different outcome. I’m so proud of these girls and how hard they played.”