Two-minute drill

The Newport Harbor High football team is hitting on all cylinders in its bid to return to the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs.

The Sailors helped their cause by beating Marina, 49-7, in a Sunset League home game Friday.

The way Coach Jeff Brinkley views it, the Sailors (6-3, 2-2 in league) are in control of their own destiny.

Thursday, the playoff picture might be clearer for the Sailors.

Newport Harbor has to beat Los Alamitos in a regular-season finale at Gahr High in Cerritos for a chance to clinch one of the Sunset League’s three automatic playoff berths.

“Their quarterback obviously is a great player,” Brinkley said of senior Clark Evans, who is headed to Colorado. “We’ve got to win out.”

The Sailors have picked up back-to-back league blowout victories, leaving them tied for third in league with Fountain Valley (6-3, 2-2) and Esperanza (6-3, 2-2).

Los Alamitos (8-1, 3-1) and Edison (7-2, 3-1) are in contention for the league title. The teams are ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in the Pac-5 Division.

Despite the ranking, the Griffins could be looking for the division’s lone at-large berth if Newport Harbor beats them for the second straight year.

Esperanza has a tougher game against Edison at Orange Coast College.

But if the Aztecs win, and Newport Harbor and Fountain Valley win, five teams in the six-team league can finish 3-2.

This is where it gets crazy.

“From our understanding, since we’ve all beaten each other, there would be a coin flip and teams would be eliminated one by one until the league had three teams left,” Brinkley said. “Then head-to-head would be factored into which teams get the league’s Nos. 1, 2 and 3 berths into the playoffs.”

Whether the Sunset League will receive an at-large entry into the playoffs could depend on a team’s overall record, Brinkley said.

The Trinity League, a six-team league, received the at-large entry in each of the first two years of the Pac-5 Division playoffs.

Orange Lutheran (7-2, 3-1) is ranked No. 4, Mater Dei (7-2, 4-0) No. 7, and Servite (6-3, 3-1), tied at No. 10.

St. John Bosco (7-2, 2-2), which fell out of the poll after being ranked No. 8 last week, is also in the picture.

“Our league would have a strong case,” Brinkley said. “Everyone would [finish] 7-3, except Los Alamitos, which would be 8-2. Los Alamitos has a strong case.

“We’ll see how it plays out.”

• Though Corona del Mar High (7-2, 2-1 in the Pacific Coast League) had a bye last week, the Sea Kings, who finish the league schedule Friday at Beckman, moved up a spot to No. 2 in the CIF Southern Division rankings.

Beckman (6-3, 1-2), a 37-29 winner over University Friday, moved into the poll at No. 9.

• Estancia’s 24-10 Orange Coast League loss at Laguna Beach Friday eliminated the Eagles, the defending league co-champions, from league title contention this season.

But the Eagles (3-6, 1-2) can wrap up third place and a guaranteed CIF Southern Division playoff berth with a win Thursday against Calvary Chapel (3-6, 1-2) at Orange Coast College.

Estancia Coach Mike Bargas said after Friday’s loss that he would break that news to his players, hoping to turn the sting of the loss into motivation for this week.

• Newport Harbor seniors Michael Helfrich and JB Green remember last year’s upset of Los Alamitos oh so well.

The two played crucial roles late in Newport’s 31-27 win.

Helfrich caught a screen pass and it took its 60 yards, setting up Green’s five-yard touchdown run, which proved to be the game-winner with 41 seconds left.

“It was a real emotional game,” Helfrich said. “It’s going to be a big game [again]. We just got to keep on going.”

• Sage Hill might have taken a few licks during Friday’s Academy League game at Brethren Christian, but that didn’t take away Lightning’s fighting spirit.

On the same drive midway through the second quarter of a 41-7 loss, senior Craig Jackson and sophomore Colton Gyulay were hurt.

On first down from the Brethren Christian 28-yard line, Jackson took a pass in the flat to the 21, where he was popped by Warriors’ linebacker Matthew Bodziak. Jackson got up slowly but had to be escorted off the field.

Three plays later, Gyulay went airborne in an attempt to snag a pass that sailed high and incomplete and was laid out by a late hit on the play. He also was able to get up but had to be taken to the sideline.

Sage Hill Coach Derek McIntyre said that Jackson, who starts at tight end and middle linebacker, suffered a mild concussion and called the senior a “question mark” for Friday’s regular-season finale at unbeaten St. Margaret’s.

Gyulay, a quarterback/receiver, had some “dizziness” after being hit, McIntyre said. The sophomore returned to the game.

Bodziak also put a monster hit on Andy Multari after the junior receiver took in a 14-yard reception with just two seconds left before halftime. Multari laid on the ground for about five minutes before being helped up by trainers and carefully moved off the field. McIntyre said that Multari was taken to the hospital but was released. He had been diagnosed with a lacerated liver but was back at school Monday yet “doubtful” for Friday, McIntyre said.

If that wasn’t enough, senior running back/defensive back Jelani Reynolds suffered a hip pointer and was walking around on crutches at game’s end. His status for Friday also is uncertain, McIntyre said.

“Depth is always a concern with us and injuries to those key players altered what we were and weren’t able to do in the game,” McIntyre said. “But the kids played hard and continued to fight. When something like this happens, it gives other players the opportunity to step up and show what they can do.”

• With Estancia senior tailback Carlos Mendez sidelined for about two quarters with a lower-leg injury against Laguna Beach, junior Alex Abalos stepped in to help trigger an effective ground game.

Abalos, a 5-foot-5, 151-pounder, burst 52 yards around the right side for a touchdown to pull the Eagles within 10-7 early in the third period. Though he came in with just 85 rushing yards on 17 attempts for the season, Abalos added a 25-yard gain later and wound up with 107 yards on 14 carries.

Mendez, whom Bargas said suffered a strained calf and a sprained ankle on the same play, eventually returned to the game in the fourth quarter, gaining six yards on his only second-half carry. He finished with 41 yards on 12 attempts, only the second time this season he has failed to gain at least 100.

Mendez now has 1,053 yards for the season, 531 shy of the school single-season record he set last season.