Eagles hungry for more

The Estancia High football team is coming off a thrilling, come-from-behind 34-33 win over JSerra.

It’s momentum the Eagles hope to keep as they play La Quinta tonight at 7 at Bolsa Grande High.

“A year ago, if we were down by a touchdown or two, our kids would lose faith and throw in the towel,” Estancia Coach Brian Barnes said. “Beating JSerra was great for us. I think it’s one of the best wins in school history. It was definitely something for us to build on for the year, and for my career at Estancia.”

The Eagles will try to improve to 4-1 when they face winless La Quinta (0-3). Barnes said Estancia will need stop Aztecs quarterback Branden Messersmith.

Messersmith, a 6-3, 185-pound senior, rushed a team-high 17 times and passed for 182 yards in La Quinta’s 35-14 loss to John Glenn last week.

“He seems bigger than [his listed height and weight],” Barnes said. “He’s a real good player for them. We’ll have to contain him. La Quinta is 0-3, but they score points.”

After being shut out by Laguna Beach in Week 1, the Aztecs have scored a combined 35 points in their last two games.

The Eagles know the Aztecs’ offensive prowess firsthand. Barnes said La Quinta beat Estancia during an unofficial summer passing league game.

“It’ll be a tough game,” Barnes said. “You can’t go into any game thinking it’ll be easy.”

Estancia hasn’t had trouble scoring points this year, either. The Eagles have scored 141 points this season, more than they posted in 11 games last season.

Senior running back Rafael Alejandre didn’t score last week, but he set up Estancia in the win over JSerra by rushing for 180 yards.

On the season, Alejandre has rushed 66 times for 398 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s the toughest kid on our team,” Barnes said. “He’s a great kid and I love his work ethic. He runs hard, and he gets a lot of those extra yards that a lot of other guys wouldn’t get.”

Estancia hopes to take its running game even further. This week at practice, Barnes instilled, “Run to Win,” a drill which features a prolonged sequence where running backs run farther and offensive linemen block longer.

“Our kids are like, ‘Coach, we’re 3-1 and practice is harder than it’s ever been,’ ” Barnes said. “But you have to work hard to play hard. We prepare our kids well, and they go hard every play of every practice.”

Barnes said senior Matt Redding, who typically starts at receiver and strong safety, suffered a mild concussion during the win over JSerra, but should be able to start at both positions tonight.

Redding has six touchdowns, five of those coming on passes from quarterback Mike Morley.

Morley has thrown for nine touchdown passes.

He also has just two interceptions through the Eagles’ first four games.

“We just want to play hard and hopefully good things will happen,” Barnes said.

“Our kids are definitely excited. They’re practicing harder and harder, because I think they’re understanding that winning is fun.”