Newport Harbor girls flag football opens ‘flood’ to beat Corona del Mar

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NEWPORT BEACH — Newport Harbor pass rusher Aliyah Chappell felt a jolt of excitement as Corona del Mar’s girls flag football team lined up for a fourth-and-1 attempt near midfield on the opening series of the second half Wednesday night.

Newport Harbor led its Back Bay rival by six points and needed a defensive stop.

“Knowing what’s on the line as a senior, and it’s my last Battle of the Bay, I just wanted to give everything my all,” Chappell said.

Chappell recorded a sack for a 6-yard loss and helped spark host Newport Harbor to a 38-7 victory in the Sunset League.

Newport Harbor (19-4, 9-2), ranked No. 3 in Orange County, outscored No. 7 Corona del Mar 25-0 in the second half to remain one game behind first place Huntington Beach (21-3, 10-1) in the league race.

No. 2 Huntington Beach has clinched at least a share of the league title and plays host to Newport Harbor on Monday to close league.

After Chappell’s sack, Newport Harbor’s Scarlett Guyser rolled to her right and tossed a 2-yard TD to Blakely Irvine to cap a 33-yard scoring drive. Freshman Emma Yokoi caught extra-point as the Sailors opened a 20-7 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Yoki intercepted a pass and returned the ball to the Sea Kings 7. Skylie Cid followed with a 4-yard touchdown run to extend Newport Harbor’s lead to 26-7.

“(We) absolutely went on a flood,” said Chappell, who hoisted Cid during a touchdown celebration. “We all did it together.”

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Guyser had a spectacular 19-yard touchdown scramble early in the fourth quarter.

Freshman Jordan Sanders later caught a short pass from Ally Shaw and raced along the sideline for a 46-yard touchdown.

On her touchdown run, Guyser juked past two pass rushers and eluded four defenders down field for her second rushing touchdown.

“She’s a great player,” Cid said of Guyser, who also threw two TDs. “She’s great at throwing as well as running.”

Newport Harbor recorded four sacks in improving to 10-0 all-time against Corona del Mar. Sanders had two sacks while Chappell and Caroline Eadie each added one.

Newport Harbor coach Jason Guyser called the performance the Sailors’ best of the season.

“That team is really good,” he said of Corona del Mar (13-7, 6-4), the reigning CIF-SS Division 2 champion. “They beat Huntington (Beach). They only lost by one the second time. They played Edison really tight. That’s a Top 15 team and we just did what we did.”

Corona del Mar’s Annasofia Dickens made a leaping 19-yard touchdown reception from freshman Charlotte Ring in the middle of the second quarter. Dickens also grabbed the extra-point as the Sea Kings tied the score 7-7.

Corona del Mar coach Theo Rokos remained confident in his team.

“We are playing at times like the best team out there and sometimes we lose collective consciousness,” he said. “Not making the fourth-and-1 and interception deep in our territory turned a tight game into a lopsided game.”

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