MISSION VIEJO — Newport Harbor survived a second-half rally from Capistrano Valley to beat the Cougars 28-25 in a nonleague football game Friday at Capistrano Valley High.

Capo Valley (3-1) had the ball on its own 17-yard line with 1:59 remaining in the game with no timeouts.

Cougars quarterback Trey Kukuk drove the team to midfield, but was sacked as time expired to give the Sailors (3-1) the win.

“The defense has been stellar,” Newport Harbor coach Peter Lofthouse said. “We won the game because the defense was able to close it out and give us an opportunity to win a tough, ugly game.”

Newport Harbor’s defense sacked Kukuk eight times for over 40 yards lost. A crucial play in the game came in the fourth quarter when Kukuk was sacked and Jacob Carlon recovered a fumble to give the Sailors the ball.

Trey Regitz, Carlon, Tanner Muir and Robby Crowell all had sacks for the Sailors and Garrett Emerson had an interception.

Sailors quarterback Colton Joseph threw for 321 yards with three touchdowns. Kashton Henjum had a monster game receiving with 214 yards on 10 receptions with three touchdowns.

“It’s hard to complain when Colton is putting the ball on the money,” Henjum said. “It feels great when everyone does their job and I’m just blessed I get to be the one with the ball in his hands.”

Newport Harbor answered a Capo Valley field goal with a three-play, 84-yard scoring drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Joseph to Henjum to give the Sailors a 7-0 lead after one quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, Joseph connected with Henjum for a 32-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-3.

After the interception by Emerson, Payton Irving ran for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Sailors a 21-3 lead entering halftime.

The game flipped when the rain started to pour in the third quarter. Kukuk ran for his first touchdown of the game to cut the Sailors’ lead to 21-10.

Trey Kukuk runs it in for a 3-yd TD. First TD of the game for Capo.

Newport Harbor 21, Capo Valley 10 with 5:14 left in the 3rd. @ocvarsity @capofootball @treykukuk @SteveFryer pic.twitter.com/PCekhkkkBf

— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) September 10, 2022

On the next offensive play, Newport Harbor fumbled a handoff that Reily Walker recovered deep in Sailors territory. Kukuk threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Sievers and converted a 2-point attempt to make the score 21-18.

Newport Harbor extended its lead in the fourth quarter when Joseph found Henjum for a 51-yard touchdown to make it 28-18.

Kukuk drove the Cougars down the field midway through the fourth quarter and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Isenhart to cut the lead to three.

Kukuk led the Cougars in rushing with 108 yards and completed 26 of 47 passes for 246 yards.

Dylan Fingersh made a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter for Capo Valley.

Dylan Fingersh makes a 30-yd field goal after a 35-yd fake punt run by Trey Kukuk.

Capo Valley 3, Newport Harbor 0 with 1:13 left in the 1st. @ocvarsity @capofootball @SteveFryer @dylanfingersh @SOCoPrepSports pic.twitter.com/A2bkvJkEJ6

— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) September 10, 2022

Both teams entered the game ranked No. 12 in the Register’s Top 25 poll.

Penalties were a big factor in the game for Newport Harbor. The Sailors had 19 penalties for 167 yards which helped Capo drive down the field in the second half.

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