TWO-MINUTE DRILL

Newport Harbor bounced back in a big way Friday.

The host Sailors upset defending Sunset League champion Los Alamitos, 35-21, to move into second place in league with two games left in the regular season.

Newport Harbor (4-4, 2-1 in league) shares second place with Huntington Beach (6-2, 2-1), which handed the Sailors their first league loss on Oct. 21.

“We have a chance to get in the playoffs,” said Coach Jeff Brinkley, who has led Newport Harbor to the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs the past two years. “We’ve just got to keep winning. We put ourselves in that position [to earn one of the league’s three postseason berths].

“This is a great win, but you’ve got to win again next week. You’ve got to keep rolling. It’s a strange league because everybody can beat everybody.”

The Sailors and Oilers trail first-place Edison (6-2, 3-0). The Chargers edged Huntington Beach, 20-14, last week.

Newport Harbor plays Marina (1-6-1, 0-3) at Westminster High on Thursday.

Newport Harbor hasn’t lost to Marina since rejoining the Sunset League five years ago.

Estancia earned a 51-0 win over Saddleback at Segerstrom High on Thursday night, improving to 6-2, 3-0 in the Orange Coast League.

The Eagles have two regular-season games left, at home against Calvary Chapel on Friday and the “Battle for the Bell” against cross-town rival Costa Mesa on Nov. 11.

Both teams still have league title aspirations. The Mustangs have clinched a CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoff berth, and Estancia can do the same by beating Calvary Chapel.

Estancia is ranked No. 4 in the Division, five spots ahead of Costa Mesa.

It would be the third straight playoff appearance for the Eagles under Coach Mike Bargas.

Costa Mesa (7-1, 3-0) earned its seventh straight victory by overpowering Calvary Chapel, 49-14, at Jim Scott Stadium on Friday night.

Each of the Mustangs’ three league contests so far have been blowouts, so the regulars haven’t played the whole game. Coach Wally Grant said that’s a concern heading into Friday’s key league game at Laguna Beach.

“To be completely honest, condition-wise we are not ready to play four quarters,” Grant said. “There’s nothing I can do Monday through Thursday to get them ready to play a four-quarter game. We’re going to be in a little bit of trouble when we play Laguna Beach and we have to have that touchdown drive, or that game-stopping scoring drive on defense. We’re going to be a little taxed … I’ve got too many two-way starters.”

Costa Mesa has not played its starters for four quarters since a 34-31 nonleague win at Ocean View on Sept. 23.

Not many teams will prevail after having two punts blocked, losing two fumbles, and trailing by 20 points in the third quarter.

Corona del Mar High survived all of that and then some in a 31-30 Pacific Coast League win over Woodbridge on Thursday

CdM saw the Warriors miss two potential game-winning field goals late.

The Sea Kings’ league unbeaten streak dating back to last season now stands at eight games.

CdM (7-1, 3-0 in league), ranked No. 1 in the Southern Division, is on track to defend its league title. Two league contests remain for the Sea Kings. On Thursday, they face University (3-5, 1-2) at Irvine High. They close out league against Beckman (6-2, 3-0) at Newport Harbor High on Nov. 11.

The Sea Kings can clinch at least a share of the league title with a win against University and a Beckman loss or tie.

Last week, University challenged second-ranked Beckman before falling, 24-21.

The Sea Kings are off to their best start since 1988, when they went on to claim the CIF Southern Section Division IV title, the program’s first of two section crowns.

Sage Hill School reached the end zone six times in a 42-7 nonleague home win over Animo Leadership on Friday. That end zone featured a different look, with a white and green checkerboard pattern similar to that used by the University of Tennessee.

Titus Hasson carried the load for Newport Harbor, amassing a career-high 258 yards on 35 carries, and he scored two touchdowns.

The senior tailback came close to cracking the top-10 list for single-game-rushing performances at Newport Harbor, not bad for a first-year running back.

Hasson’s longest run was a 73-yard touchdown, which came with 1:32 left in the first half. He gave Newport Harbor a 21-7 lead.

Seventy-six seconds later, Hasson added a 23-yard touchdown catch.

The offensive line, featuring, left tackle Sam Bush, left guard Hunter Durante, center Max Heilig, right guard Ted Barry and right tackle Hamilton Randle, opened holes for Hasson all night.

“They blocked great,” Brinkley said. “They were physical and they were getting off the ball.”

The Estancia defense was suffocating in the Eagles’ win over Saddleback.

How suffocating?

Saddleback’s first five plays, and 10 of its first 11, went for no gain or negative yardage.

The Roadrunners’ 12th play from scrimmage was a pass intercepted by Estancia’s Levi Stillman, who returned it 18 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 30-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Even with limited time on the field, Costa Mesa continues to show that its offense is extremely dangerous.

Mesa is averaging nearly 47 points per game. The Mustangs have scored at least 34 points in every game of their seven-game winning streak.

Only undefeated Saddleback Valley Christian (54.1 points per game) is averaging more points among Orange County schools.

Mesa senior running back Mario Smith (1,464 yards, 20 touchdowns) is also third in the county in rushing.

Senior quarterback Brent Lawson engineered the CdM comeback against Woodbridge.

The Sea Kings were behind, 17-3, at halftime. To start the second half, Lawson capped a seven-play, 78-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown run.

In 2 minutes, 35 seconds, the Sea Kings cut the deficit to 17-10.

But the Warriors pushed their lead to 30-10. Special teams helped their cause in the third quarter.

They returned a kickoff 51 yards, setting up a 29-yard touchdown run.

Three minutes later, Woodbridge’s Kyle Kelley blocked his second punt of the game. And it led to another touchdown.

Lawson went back to work. He completed four of five passes for 70 yards on the ensuing possession, the biggest a 19-yard touchdown pass.

After Cole Cottrell returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown, CdM got the go-ahead score with 7:11 left.

Lawson went to Giger, who raced 72 yards with the touchdown reception to put CdM up, 31-30.

Lawson finished with 227 yards and two touchdowns on 10-of-18 passing. Six of those completions went to Giger, who finished with 141 yards.

Estancia welcomed back junior middle linebacker Colby Koste the past two weeks.

Koste, who missed five games with a broken tibia suffered in the season opener against Bolsa Grande, is a leader on defense. Coach Mike Bargas is only playing Koste, a team captain who was also a projected starter at tight end this year, on defense at the moment.

“He’s on fire like his hair is,” Bargas said of Koste, a redhead. “He’s got a knack for the football. We’ve been waiting for Colby. He’s come back 100% and he’s not playing like a guy who broke his tibia.”

The Eagles have more positive injury news, as Bargas said standout junior receiver/defensive back Ben Beck could return this week. Beck has missed the past three games with a foot injury.

Newport Harbor’s defense stopped Los Alamitos on downs twice and intercepted two passes.

In the first quarter, defensive end Steve Michaelsen stuffed a running play for a one-yard loss on the Sailors’ five-yard line on fourth-and-one.

Linebacker Grant Frazier tackled a receiver for no gain on fourth-and-two on the Sailors’ 38 in the second quarter.

Linebacker Ethan Cochran and cornerback Kory Cablay had the interceptions.

— From staff reports