Estancia Football preview vs. Loara

Estancia vs. Loara

When/where: Thursday, 7 p.m. at Western High

Key Eagles: Sr. QB Connor Brown; Sr. OL/DL Jason Jones; Sr. OL/DL Juan Lozada; Sr. FB/LB D.J. Davis.

Key Saxons: Jr. QB Boogie Augustine; Sr. RB/LB Andrew Aguilar; Sr. OL/DL Brian Bautista.

Breakdown: Estancia, ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, hits the road to face Loara in the season opener for both teams ... This is the fourth straight year the Eagles have opened the season with the Saxons, and they’re 2-1 in the previous three years, including a 48-20 victory last season ... The Eagles, who scrimmaged against Newport Harbor last week, are 3-5 overall in season-openers under Coach Mike Bargas ... Loara finished with a 1-9 record last year and was just 1-4 in the Golden West League, good for fifth place in the six-team league ... First-year Coach Mitch Olson leads the Saxons ... Estancia was able to run the ball on Loara in last year’s win, totaling 355 rushing yards and five touchdowns ... Brown enters his third year as starting quarterback and was the Orange Coast League Offensive Player of the Year last season.

— Matt Szabo