Palmer’s Three Touchdowns Lead Newport Harbor Past Tesoro, 44-19

Tesoro scored first, but Newport Harbor answered right away and led 7-6 after one quarter. The Sailors took control in the second, scoring 13 points to lead 20-6 at halftime. They added another 14 points in the third quarter to make it 34-6, and Tesoro was held scoreless through the first three quarters after its early touchdown. The Titans added 13 points in the fourth quarter and Newport Harbor added 10 more, but the game was decided well before then.

Palmer had four catches for 101 yards and three touchdowns, his best receiving game of the season. Pepe Tena led the ground game, carrying 19 times for 119 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jordan Spigarelli threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns, completing 7 of 12 passes.

Tesoro got scoring from Trent Thomas, Jack Gaya and Jayden Hansen. Hansen was efficient through the air, completing 12 of 15 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Sam Kennedy caught 4 passes for 45 yards, and Ryan Brundage ran 8 times for 34 yards.

Newport Harbor entered the game ranked 80th in California by MaxPreps, while Tesoro was ranked 517th. The Sailors improve to 5-2 and have allowed just 42 points in their last four games combined. Tesoro falls to 1-6 and has lost 10 of its last 11 games, dating back to last season.

Newport Harbor visits Aliso Niguel (2-5) next Friday, Oct. 16, in Epsilon League play. Tesoro travels to Trabuco Hills (5-2) the same night.