My new book, “Battle of the Bay: America’s Finest High School Football Rivalry,” details the fascinating gridiron history between Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools in a coffee-table style hardback.
All proceeds of the book benefit both schools, as well as the local nonprofit California Rewind, the publisher.
The aptly named crosstown football clash between the two schools, 3.4 miles apart and across the Upper Newport Bay, is the longest-running, most historically significant and culturally impactful annual sporting event in Newport Beach, based on traditions, neighborhoods, community, alumni, bragging rights, epic games and childhood friendships that are fostered throughout a lifetime.
One year after opening its doors in 1962, Corona del Mar started crashing helmets against the Sailors, always viewed as the big brother, or the USC, of the town, according to Newport Harbor player Tony Horvath. Newport Harbor has been wearing leather helmets or clipping on chin straps since 1931.
The keepsake includes a foreword by 2024 Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill and openings from CdM Principal Dr. Jacob Haley and Newport Harbor Principal Dr. Sean Boulton. It is available in hardcover at both high schools, California Rewind and certain local retail outlets, and in paperback and online at Amazon.
The reference to community and its collective heartbeat for the rivalry might be the single most pertinent piece of enduring delight or relentless gloom, based on the game’s outcome of the year, or years, in which one is most closely linked.
No matter the teams’ record or how badly one school is beating up on the other, the stadium is always packed and rocking with standing-room-only fans.
All-CIF Southern Section performer Mark Hatfield, a tight end and middle linebacker who led a host of defensive heroes for Corona del Mar in its shocking 1998 Battle of the Bay win, is now the Newport Harbor Football Booster Club president.
“It’s the best rivalry in Southern California,” said Hatfield, who also played on the 1999 CIF championship baseball team at CdM. “My son (Cameron) is now on the opposite side. He’s (a sophomore) at Newport Harbor, so I have another perspective as a parent.”
Former CdM quarterback Aaron Perlmutter said that the Battle of the Bay “is probably the biggest game I’ll ever play in my life.”
According to Newport Harbor All-CIF linebacker Joe Urban, who played in three Battle of the Bay contests in the mid-1990s, the game “is the greatest experience a high school football kid can have in the area.”
Newport Harbor leads the all-time series, 40-23, and has won the last two rivalry games, which includes ending a rivalry-record 10-year losing streak in 2023.
“It was the best feeling ever to win,” said Newport Harbor senior wide receiver Josiah Lamarque, who was a part of the rivalry throughout his career, only to come up short in the previous three games, before claiming his first in 2023. “When you see that final snap, and see all the fans and students and teachers coming on the field, it was like something you see in a movie, and it was something I’ll never forget, especially going to get that trophy from the (Corona del Mar) sideline and taking that (Victory Bell) trophy across the field to the other side, moving it over to our sideline and taking a group picture with it.”
Newport Harbor parent and volunteer Jason Lavin founded California Rewind on a whim during the coronavirus lockdowns, serving as the impetus of what is now a full-fledged and accredited high school sports media curriculum in a region covering seven Sunset League schools.
The mission of California Rewind is to change the way high school sports are covered. Both school principals and Las Vegas Raiders General Manager Tom Telesco serve on the board of directors.
Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.
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