Newport Harbor’s Season Comes to an End After Falling to Aquinas Friday Night (2021)

San Bernardino – Aquinas HS Field

The Sailors got on the board first as they used a drive that ate up over half the quarter in terms of time. The drive was capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass from AJ Guitron-Moore finding Kashton Henjum for the score.

Aquinas didn’t waste any time evening up the score, as their scoring drive only took 2:33 with it being capped off by a 1-yard score from Jusyis Solis, making the score 7-7, which wound up being the score at the end of the opening quarter.

On the second play of the second quarter, Guitron-Moore hit Duke Starnes for a 16-yard touchdown pass, as the Newport Harbor regained the lead at 14-7 having only shaved seven seconds off the clock.

The first punt of the game came from the Falcons, as they had a seven minute drive result in a punt that was nearly blocked. The Sailors only needed two plays to score as Guitron-Moore threw his third touchdown of the night, finding Josiah Lamarque for a 53-yard score.

It all looked like it was smooth sailing, until Aquinas struck back with a 12-yard rushing touchdown, which cut the lead down 21-14. The Falcons forced Newport Harbor to punt before halftime and it eventually paid the price, as the home team needed only two plays to put up another touchdown and despite missing the extra point, the Sailors’ lead was only 21-20.

Aquinas opened the third quarter in a big way, as Kaden Willerford used a fake handoff on the kickoff and took it 95 yards to the house, (check out that HUGE SCOREBOARD in the background of the video/Tweet). giving his team their first lead at 27-21. The Sailors’ offense was unable to get anything going in the third quarter, as they were pressured into getting yards that went for little to no gain from the Falcons’ defense.

On the Aquinas’ next drive, they fed the hot hand again as Solis broke a couple of tackles and dash for a 58-yard touchdown run. To make sure they wanted to be up 14 instead of 13, the Falcons went for a two-point conversion and completed it as Solis ran in to put his team up 35-21.

After being forced to punt, Newport Harbor recovered a fumble near midfield, which proved to be pivotal for its chances of staying within striking distance. But the Sailors turned it over on downs after Guitron-Moore was sacked and brought down in his team’s own territory.

Aquinas continued its fast-paced offense as Dre Robles hit Cesar Fernandez for a 37-yard gain and on the next play, Robles used his legs on a six-yard quarterback keeper touchdown and suddenly, it led 42-21.

The Sailors didn’t give up, as Hayden Farley went in for a 3-yard rushing touchdown a play after Guitron-Moore hit Hendjum for a 32-yard pickup to start the fourth quarter.
After Aquinas turned the ball on downs in their opponent’s territory, Newport Harbor tried to march 76 yards down the field and get another touchdown. But they turned it over on downs on their own 47 with about five minutes remaining.

The Sailors got a fortunate interception from Billy Ridley as they needed to go 80 yards in the span of 4:10 remaining in their season. But they came up short, as Aquinas got the first down on the ensuing drive and wound up winning.

Despite the loss, Newport Harbor coach Peter Lofthouse was proud of his team on what they accomplished this season. He also made note of his team returning a good number of players for next season, despite him losing some players to graduation.

“While we lose some good football players and some seniors, we return a lot of this team back. There is a lot to be very proud of in the sense that this is a very good football team that we can continue to build on,” Lofthouse said Guitron-Moore, in his last high school football game, had 356 passing yards and three touchdowns.

“We learned that you can never quit. We were 3-7 and came back all the way to the regional finals and we had a [heck] of a run. People thought we wouldn’t have made it and we made it this far,” Guitron-Moore said.
Hendjum paced Newport Harbor in the receiving department as he had 14 catches for 200 yards and one touchdown. Slater led the rushing attack with 11 carries and 36 yards.