JSerra defense makes it a long night for Newport Harbor football team

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NEWPORT BEACH – JSerra’s defense set the tone on Friday night.

The Lions recorded a safety, scored on an interception and sacked the quarterback four times en route to a 44-0 nonleague football victory over host Newport Harbor.

Thanks to Lions punter Chase Barry, Newport Harbor started possessions on its 1-yard line on two occasions, and that led to a safety for the Lions on the Sailors’ first drive of the game.

“I have to give it all up to the defensive line,” JSerra safety Jared Referente said. “They have showed up every week and carried the intensity to the back of the defense.”

JSerra’s defense wasn’t done following the safety by Hugo Hart. The Lions (3-2) sacked Newport Harbor quarterback Nick Kim four times, two of those by Jose Frutos

The Lions defense added a score with Luke Berry’s 24-yard interception for a touchdown.

JSerra’s defensive line also gave the Sailors running game a hard time, Payton Irving was held to 7 yards rushing.

“The defensive line has been one of our strengths all year,” Berry said. “Especially the front six. We were able to execute our game plan to the best of our abilities. That is what led us to ultimately be successful tonight.”

Jared Referente led the Lions with 85 yards rushing on only five carries and two scores, and quarterback Dylan Mills completed 5 of 10 passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns (one each to Titus Heimuli and Josh Jornadal).

Chase Barry punted the ball to the 1-yard line again in the second half, which was played with a running clock due to the Lion’ 44-0 lead at halftime.

“We have a Division I punter,” JSerra coach Scott McKnight said. “He doesn’t just punt for distance, but he’s great at pinning their guys down. He did that twice tonight and it started the night off with a safety by pinning the ball down at the 1-yard line. Chase Barry is a big time player.”

AJ Guitron-Moore was 4 of 11 passing for 38 yards for Newport Harbor (1-4), while Kashton Henjum caught five passes for 37 yards.

Zander Singh was 4 of 8 passing for 53 yards for JSerra in the second half.

Newport Harbor starts Sunset League play on Thursday Sept. 30 on the road against Edison. JSerra will kick off Trinity League play at home on Friday Oct. 1 against Santa Margarita.

“We are going to have to play at a high level in all phases,” McKnight said. “We played great defense, we played great special teams.  Offensively, we had some opportunities against some quality opponents like Sierra Canyon or Corona Centennial. We need to do a better job in the red zone against teams like that and teams like Santa Margarita.”