Comeback makes Eagles true believers

Patrick Laverty

After Estancia High’s football team had pulled off a stunning, 35-30,

come-from-behind victory over Ocean View Friday, Eagles Coach Craig

Fertig walked up to seniors Bubba Kapko and Cullen Crom to ask them a

question.

“I said, ‘Hey, what did some guy say at halftime?’ ” Fertig said.

“They said, ‘Coach, you said, I’m betting on you guys.’ ”

Trailing, 23-7, at the intermission, Fertig showed his faith in

the Eagles. In turn, the players began to believe in themselves.

Center Yousif Muradian rallied the team on the sideline, which

Fertig called the turning point of the game.

Quarterback Brad Young collected the offense together and declared

that Estancia was going to come back and win the game.

The Eagles (3-1, 1-0 in Golden West League) believed it, a stark

contrast to the last two seasons, when Estancia folded early and

often on its way to just one victory in 18 games.

“I think we became a football team,” Fertig said. “They showed a

lot of heart and a lot of courage. A lot of teams would have folded.”

Instead, Estancia scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and the

final 28 points of the game. The stunning comeback didn’t end until

Kapko ran for a 2-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining.

For Fertig, who was part of a remarkable comeback as quarterback

when USC erased a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 1-ranked

and unbeaten Notre Dame in 1964 on Fertig’s touchdown pass to Rod

Sherman, said the Eagles’ comeback ranked among the best he has been

a part of.

“It’s right up there at the top,” Fertig said. “Mothers were

crying and hugging. Fathers were jumping up and down. It was a great

thing.”

The victory is also likely to give the Eagles a huge boost heading

into their second Golden West League game, at Westminster Friday at 7

p.m.

“We had a great time in the locker room after the game,” Fertig

said. “I told them, this is what it’s all about. Then, I fooled with

them a bit. I told them, ‘Gassers at 6 a.m. Saturday morning.’ They

went, ‘Huh?’ Then I told them, ‘Just kidding. Take the weekend off.

See you on Monday.’ ”

When the Eagles do return to practice today, they’ll likely do so

without junior tailback David Moreno, who left Friday’s game because

of an injury to his left knee. While his prognosis isn’t expected

until today, Fertig thinks Moreno could be out two-to-three weeks.

* NEWPORT HARBOR: The Sailors are off to their first 4-0 start

since 1998, but all that means in the Sea View League is that Newport

Harbor is keeping pace.

With one game remaining before league play begins, Newport Harbor,

Foothill and Laguna Hills have all posted 4-0 records. Right behind

those schools are Irvine and Aliso Niguel, which are both 3-1.

“It’s a tough road,” Sailors Coach Jeff Brinkley said. “We just

have to keep trying to get better. Really, right now, I’m most

concerned with the penalties. If a penalty occurs during the course

of being aggressive, that’s one thing. But lining up wrong, that’s

got to be corrected.”

Newport Harbor committed 12 penalties for 102 yards in its 36-6

victory over Dana Hills Friday. In their four games combined, the

Sailors have committed 27 penalties for 269 yards. Their opponents

have been flagged just 12 times for 97 yards.

A number of Newport Harbor’s penalties were for not having enough

men on the line of scrimmage. Because of the multiple sets Newport

Harbor runs, mistakes like those may have been excusable in the first

few weeks, due to youth and inexperience. But with Sea View League

play about to begin, penalties like that can’t be afforded.

“I think we’re still making some mistakes,” Brinkley said. “There

are the penalties. We’re not pleased about that. There are still some

mistakes in execution, which probably won’t be made by guys next

year. But we’re definitely maturing.”

That is evident by the play on both sides of the ball. The defense

has allowed just five touchdowns in four games, including one to Dana

Hills, and the offense continues to grow under junior quarterback

Kasey Peters. Newport Harbor did just about everything right against

the Dolphins.

“We played good defense stopping the option,” Brinkley said. “On

the offensive side, we threw the ball really well. I think we had a

good scheme against them and the players executed well.”

At Paramount, Friday at 7 p.m., the Sailors will receive their

final test before league play begins. Junior linebacker-tight end

Greg Miner, who missed Friday’s game with a hamstring injury, is

expected to return to the lineup.

* CORONA DEL MAR: The Sea Kings bounced back from a difficult loss

to Newport Harbor in the 42nd edition of the Battle of the Bay with a

28-14 victory over Cypress Friday. But for Coach Dick Freeman, who is

also in charge of the offensive line, it’s about what CdM didn’t do

against Cypress.

“Cypress is pretty big. We didn’t handle them real well,” said

Freeman, who was disappointed in the play of the offensive line.

“We’re not getting off the ball. We’re not getting into people. We’re

not tying up linemen. We’re not staying on blocks.”

The Sea Kings will look to improve on al those things this week in

practice.

Corona del Mar has an opportunity to enter league play 4-1 for the

first time since 1998 with a win in its final nonleague game, but the

Sea Kings will have their hands full against La Habra, the defending

CIF Southern Section Division IX champion, Friday at 7 p.m.

The key for Freeman’s squad will be the same as it has been all

season: turnovers. The Sea Kings didn’t turn the ball over against

Cypress. But in their loss to Newport Harbor, they lost two fumbles.

The turnover-free play begins with junior quarterback Tom Welch,

who has yet to throw an interception this season despite playing

under center for the first time.

“He does a good job of knowing when he can throw it,” Freeman

said. “He’s not going to put the ball up just because we say it’s a

pass.”

Welch is still learning to read the defense, but Freeman said that

will take time.

What Welch has shown a knack for is scrambling away from trouble.

He scored on a pair of touchdown runs against Cypress and has three

rushing touchdowns to go with five passing scores this season.

Despite the troubles of the offensive line, Corona del Mar still

ran for 170 yards on 36 carries, led by Wess Presson’s 65 yards and

two touchdowns.

The defense, aided by the return of linebacker Shaun Mohler, made

CdM’s 21-3 halftime lead stand by limiting Cypress to 13 yards

rushing on 24 carries.

“”We’ve said all along, we just need to get better every week,”

Freeman said.

* COSTA MESA: The Mustangs are 2-2 after a 29-28 overtime loss to

Saddleback, but with the exception of the scoreboard, it’s hard to

fathom how they lost two games.

Statistically, Costa Mesa dominated Saddleback and Corona del Mar,

which opened the season with a victory over the Mustangs.

But the difference in both games was turnovers. The Mustangs lost

three fumbles against Saddleback and two fumbles in the second half

against Corona del Mar.

Costa Mesa fell behind Saddleback, 14-0, because of a bad punt

snap that was recovered in the end zone and a lost fumble at its

12-yard line.

“We had 400 yards of offense,” Perkins said, “we did a lot of

really good things. But we put the ball on the ground and they

capitalized.”

The Mustangs came back by scoring on a pair of takeaways in the

second half, forcing overtime.

“I’m really, really proud of how the kids came back,” Costa Mesa

Coach Dave Perkins said.

But Mesa’s comeback, which was highlighted by Omar Ruiz’s 234

yards rushing and four touchdowns, was nullified when Saddleback

senior running back Ramiro Chavez ran in a two-point conversion in

overtime for the one-point differential. Prior to the conversion,

another Mesa mistake, an offsides penalty, spotted the ball at the

1-yard line.

The loss was a shocker for the Golden West League favorite and

defending champion Mustangs. Costa Mesa (0-1 in league) had gone

undefeated last year in league play and returned seven starters on

offense and eight on defense. It beat Saddleback, 35-0, last season.

Coach Dave Perkins had mentioned the targets on the Mustangs backs

as a result of last season’s success numerous times. But not many

thought anyone in the league was capable of shooting a bull’s eye

against a team that entered Friday’s game ranked No. 3 in CIF

Southern Section Division VII.

“There’s a whole bunch of positives to come out of this,” Perkins

said. “It takes the pressure off us. We don’t have to worry about the

undefeated streak. We’re the underdogs now. We talked with the kids

on Saturday and I think they’re going to come back with a lot more

determination.”

The Mustangs will attempt to rebound against Ocean View, Friday at

7 p.m.

* SAGE HILL: Coming off their first victory of the season, the

Lightning couldn’t sustain the momentum against Fairmont, losing,

26-13.

“We came out sluggish and that killed us,” Sage Hill Coach Tom

Monarch said. “We came out sluggish and let them get ahead, 14-0. It

wasn’t the aggressiveness that we had last game.”

The Lightning weren’t able to contain Fairmont senior running back

Justin Harris, who rushed for 128 yards and caught six passes for 105

yards. Poor tackling by Sage Hill contributed to those totals.

“We definitely need to work on our tackling,” Monarch said. “We

have to hit through the runner. No more arm tackling.”

The Lightning still had a chance to tie the game late in the third

quarter after driving deep into Fairmont territory. But consecutive

rushing gains were nullified by penalties and quarterback Braden Ross

and fullback Ray Lim were both forced to leave the game because of

hand injuries.

Monarch was forced to move tailback Eddie Huang, who rushed for 94

yards, to quarterback, depleting the Lightning backfield and

squashing their momentum.

Ross returned to the game in the fourth quarter and he and Lim are

both expected to be available for Sage Hill when it plays host to

Ribet Academy, Friday at 3:30 p.m.