High School Football: Mercado leads Calvary Chapel past Estancia

When transfer players become eligible, it can sometimes feel like Christmas for the team that gets them.

That has to be the feeling for Calvary Chapel, which recently activated El Toro-transfer Anthony Mercado to its squad.

In his second game for Calvary Chapel, Mercado scored five touchdowns to lead his team past Estancia, 53-20, Thursday in an Orange Coast League game at Jim Scott Stadium.

The senior running back rushed 17 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns to thrill the Homecoming crowd. He also scored twice on defense.

“It was pretty good,” Mercado said. “I just love playing with my new team, playing for Christ, and playing to the best of my ability.”

Calvary Chapel (2-5, 2-0) was winless in nonleague games, but the defending Orange Coast League champions have won their first two league games in convincing fashion. They defeated Costa Mesa, 42-7, to open league.

“I think the kids are just starting to learn that the details matter, and they’re really starting to focus in on the little things,” Calvary Chapel Coach Chris Cox said of the turnaround.

Then Cox cracked a smile and gave Mercado his due.

“Getting Tony Mercado eligible sure doesn’t hurt, either,” he said. “That kind of helps when you get a kid like that.”

Quarterback Robbie Haw threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns. His leading receiver was Payton Rogers, who had six receptions for 117 yards.

A manageable game at halftime rendered itself to some heartbreaking moments for Estancia (1-6, 0-2) coming out of the break. Turnovers took the life out of the game.

Estancia trailed, 25-14, but it received the ball to start the second half. Shortly after doing so, Tyler Ross was stripped of the ball by Mercado, who took it back 26 yards to make it a three-possession game.

Haw connected with Nathaniel Martinez on a 28-yard touchdown to open Calvary Chapel’s lead to 39-14 at the 9:28 mark of the third quarter.

Mercado capped his tremendous night with a fifth touchdown off an aborted snap on Estancia’s next drive.

“I was blitzing up the middle, but then I gave a move to the guard every time,” Mercado said of his two fumble-recovery scores.

Kaden Headington added a short-yardage rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, leaving the game well in hand for Calvary Chapel at 53-14.

Ross was victimized on both of Mercado’s defensive touchdowns, but Estancia Coach Mike Bargas was proud of the resiliency that he showed late.

The senior returned a kickoff to the 1-yard line in the closing minutes, then scored on a pass from quarterback Eric Carrasco (126 yards).

“He’s a competitor, and he got that great kickoff return,” Bargas said of Ross. “Without a doubt, that’s a character check right there.”

With his team’s offense struggling to score over the last three weeks, Bargas said that he wanted to establish the run.

Estancia committed to that gameplan early, running the ball on 12 of its 25 offensive snaps in the first half. Although it saw mixed results in the running game, Estancia was able to keep up with Calvary Chapel’s quick-strike offense early.

Going deep into the playbook in the first quarter, Ross lined up as a receiver on the left side. He went in motion across the formation, took the handoff from Carrasco, and uncorked a deep pass to Hayden Pearce for an 86-yard touchdown that gave Estancia a 7-6 lead.

Calvary Chapel could not be stopped, though. Headington had a 49-yard kickoff return in response to the trick-play score. On the next play, Mercado sprinted to the end zone from 30 yards out to retake the lead.

The following drive saw Haw showcase his deep-ball accuracy, as he picked out Rogers in stride for an 81-yard touchdown.

“We’ve just got to keep chipping away at this thing, try to cut down on mistakes,” Bargas said. “We just weren’t clicking on defense tonight.”

Estancia hosts Costa Mesa Oct. 21.

Calvary Chapel has a home game versus Godinez.

Orange Coast League

Calvary Chapel 53, Estancia 20

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Estancia 7-7-0-6 — 20

Calvary Chapel 19-6-21-7 — 53

FIRST QUARTER

CC – Mercado 5 run (Koth kick failed), 8:46.

EST – Pearce 86 pass from Ross (Martinez kick), 7:50.

CC – Mercado 30 run (Headington run failed), 7:31.

CC – Rogers 81 pass from Haw (Koth kick), 1:35.

SECOND QUARTER

EST – Balcazar 6 fumble recovery (Martinez kick), 10:32.

CC – Mercado 2 run (Carnevale run failed), 6:46.

THIRD QUARTER

CC – Mercado 26 fumble recovery (Koth kick), 11:47.

CC – Martinez 28 pass from Haw (Koth kick), 9:28.

CC – Mercado 15 fumble recovery (Koth kick), 9:16.

FOURTH QUARTER

CC – Ka. Headington 5 run (Koth kick), 7:46.

EST – Ross 6 pass from Carrasco (Carrasco pass failed), 4:51.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

EST – Ross, 10-23.

CC – Mercado, 17-130, 3 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

EST – Carrasco, 12-23-0, 126, 1 TD.

CC – Haw, 13-17-0, 219, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

EST – Pearce, 2-91, 1 TD.

CC – Rogers, 6-117, 1 TD.