Win keeps Estancia on title track

Second-year Estancia High football coach Brian Barnes talked openly of the three goals he created for the Eagles this season.

“We wanted to win a city championship, an Orange Coast League championship and a CIF [Southern Section Southern Division] championship,” Barnes said.

By taking care of their first goal Friday night with a 17-0 triumph in the Battle for the Bell against crosstown rival Costa Mesa, the Eagles (6-2, 1-0 in league) took a big step toward goal No. 2.

Estancia, which finished 2-9 last season and has not won a league title since 1989, would wrap up at least a share of the Orange Coast crown with a win Friday night at Laguna Beach (3-5, 1-0).

Corona del Mar High (6-3, 2-1) remained in the thick of the title chase in the Pacific Coast League with a 41-28 league win over Irvine Friday night.

Sage Hill School (5-3, 2-0), ranked No. 8 in the CIF Northeastern Division, tuned up for it’s two biggest games of the season — Academy League dates against Capistrano Valley Christian and St. Margaret’s — with a 63-26 nonleague home victory over Animo Leadership Friday night.

Newport Harbor saw its Sunset League title hopes, as well as its bid for a CIF Pac-5 Division playoff berth diminish with a 37-6 loss to Edison Friday.

Here’s a breakdown of Week 9:

It was Estancia’s second shutout of the season and among the team’s best defensive performances, Barnes said.

“Our offensive line shows more and more confidence and we ran the ball well,” Barnes said.

“Throwing the ball, Costa Mesa did a good job of covering our receivers. Their safeties were jetting toward Matt Redding, but we had some other guys open and we took advantage.”

Barnes said the postgame spoils, the bell-ringing ceremony and the traditional rib feast at Newport Rib Company, were as sweet as ever.

Though the Eagles finish the regular season Nov. 10 with a league game against Calvary Chapel (2-6, 0-1), Friday’s clash at Laguna Beach amounts to a league title game.

Barnes said being in position to play for such high stakes is the culmination of what he and his assistant coaches have been working on since they arrived.

“It’s what we expect,” Barnes said of playing for a title. “When I came here, I said I wanted to put Estancia back on the map in Orange County. Our kids’ hard work in the offseason is starting to pay off. We were 2-8 last season [in the regular-season] and we’re trying to finish 8-2 this season. That’s quite a turnaround.

“We have a few players who weren’t even born the last time Estancia won a league championship.”

“We both run the same [three-five-three] defense,” said Freeman, who noted both teams not only practice against the scheme, but that both coaching staffs know where it is potentially vulnerable.

“You either have to man up [on pass coverage] or use a three-deep zone,” Freeman said. “We had some stuff set up [offensively] and [senior quarterback Tyler Hughes] is very accurate.”

The result was 329 passing yards and three touchdown passes for Hughes, who completed 25 of 33 passes (a stunning 75.8%).

Hughes broke the school record for completions in one game (Matt Evans had set the standard with 21 in 1991). Now having completed 101 of 163 passes this season, despite missing two games due to a shoulder injury, the Mater Dei transfer is 28 completions and 200 yards shy of tying school single-season records set by Mike McClellan in 1996.

Senior receiver Steven Hillgren, who caught 11 passes for 139 yards and one TD, broke the single-game receptions record of 10 set by Ryan Cooper in 1997.

Freeman said the absence of Chris Sykes (1,087 yards and 14 TDs), due to injury, helped the Sea Kings’ best a strong offensive performance by the Vaqueros (6-3, 2-1).

“It’s probably a whole different game if [Sykes] is playing,” Freeman said. “We probably would have had to score two more [touchdowns].”

The Sea Kings’ league title hopes were strengthened by Laguna Hills’ 17-17 tie with University.

Laguna Hills (1-0-1 in league), which defeated the Sea Kings, 26-20, Oct. 20, plays Irvine the final week of the season.

“That was good news and bad news,” Freeman said of the Laguna Hills-University tie. The bad news is, we now have to play University (4-3-1, 0-1-1), Thursday at Irvine High.

A victory Thursday would assure the Sea Kings no worse than the league’s No. 2 CIF playoff berth.

Junior quarterback Jamie McGee’s five touchdown passes were also a school single-game record.

Monarch said he was pleased with the production of the passing game, which he said opened up, in order to create a needed complement to his ground game in the two crucial league contests ahead.

Despite a lack of serious competition from Animo (0-9), which has been outscored this season, 583-118 and surrendered single-game outputs of 78, 70, 67, 65, 63, 57, 50, 48 and 40 points, Monarch said his team accomplished its objective against the Aztecs.

“There have been a couple of games this year where we had an opportunity to open up the lead and blow out an opponent,” Monarch said. “We were able to blow out our opponent this week and that is a good confidence builder.”

And while he is pleased with his team’s progress, Monarch said there are still areas the Lightning need to work on.

“I think we need to tighten up our aggressiveness in the secondary,” Monarch said. “And I thought we were a little soft on our pass coverage over the middle.”

Sage plays Capo Valley Christian (4-4, 1-1) Saturday night at 7 at San Clemente High. A victory would assure the Lightning no worse than the league’s No. 2 playoff berth.

Lowe, a starter at tight end and safety, has a severe strain or a tear in one of his calf muscles, Osso said.

Osso said his defense achieved one objective of the game plan and his offense did some good things against the Eagles.

“Our plan on defense was not to let [Estancia receiver] Matt Redding beat us and he didn’t,” said Osso, whose team fell to 2-6, 0-1 in league, heading into Thursday’s meeting with Calvary Chapel at 7 at Newport Harbor High.

“We just didn’t execute, on offense, and [the Eagles] did a good job of stopping us. You could tell, at times, they just wanted it a little more than we did.

“The good news is, we can still salvage our season,” Osso said. “If we win our next two games, we go to the playoffs.”

With two league games left, the best-case scenario for the Sailors’ playoff chances would be for them to win out and have Esperanza (2-1 in league) lose to league-leading Los Alamitos Friday.

Should Newport finish tied for third with Esperanza, behind Los Al and Edison, the Sailors would get the league’s third playoff berth, by virtue of having defeated Esperanza.