Estancia in title hunt after bounce-back game
After losing its previous five games, Estancia High finds itself back in contention to defend its Orange Coast League championship.
The Eagles upset host Costa Mesa, 23-0, in the 49th edition of the Battle for the Bell rivalry game at Jim Scott Stadium on Friday night. The Eagles (2-5, 1-1 in league) shut down the Mustangs (5-2, 1-1), ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll, and moved into a second-place tie in league with Costa Mesa, Godinez and Saddleback, all of which are one game behind first-place Calvary Chapel (4-3, 2-0).
Estancia Coach Mike Bargas remained optimistic during the Eagles’ worst losing streak in 12 years. He knew more than half of the losses, coming against Pacifica, Irvine and University, which are a combined 15-6, are schools in the Southwest Division, which is equivalent to Division 4, compared to the Southern Division, which is Division 12.
Three games remain in league for Estancia, which travels to Laguna Beach (2-5, 0-2) next week.
Estancia’s lone setback in league was to league favorite Calvary Chapel, which won the league opener between the two schools, 23-21. Calvary Chapel stayed undefeated in league with a 30-24 victory against Godinez at Segerstrom High on Thursday.
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Running back Jordan Balcazar returned from a dislocated right shoulder injury and provided a spark for Estancia.
The junior recorded runs of 49 and 43 yards, both set up touchdowns in the first and fourth quarters, respectively.
Balcazar, who was sidelined the previous three games, finished with 17 carries for 104 yards and one touchdown.
“He ran the heck out of the ball,” Estancia Coach Mike Bargas said. “We weren’t sure when he was going to come back. He reinjured [his shoulder] a little bit [early against Costa Mesa], but he went back in.”
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Estancia’s shutout of Costa Mesa was its first against the Mustangs since 2006, when the Eagles won, 17-0.
Estancia has also blanked Costa Mesa in 1975, 1977, 1984 and 1989.
The rivalry, which Estancia leads, 29-19-1, has featured one scoreless game (1967).
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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NEWPORT HARBOR
The Newport Harbor High football team came up with big plays when it needed them, en route to a much-needed 33-27 overtime victory at Huntington Beach on Friday night.
A loss would have made the Sailors 0-2 in the Sunset league, tied for fourth with Marina and Los Alamitos and a full two games behind Edison, Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.
Instead, the Sailors are 1-1 in league, tied with the Oilers and just a game back of the Chargers and Barons. Newport Harbor plays host to Los Alamitos on Friday night at Davidson Field.
A top-three finish in league guarantees a berth into the CIF Southern Section West Valley Division playoffs. Newport Harbor has made the playoffs six straight seasons.
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Huntington Beach senior Hunter Simmons, one of the top running backs in Orange County, had 31 carries for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But the Sailors made him work for those yards, particularly in the second half.
Simmons had 12 carries for 168 yards in the first half, and 19 carries for 156 yards in the second half. Only one of his final 14 carries of the game went for more than nine yards.
The Sailors forced him to fumble twice, once in each half, with Gage Roberson and Nate Harding recovering the fumbles. They also stopped him in the red zone early in the third quarter. On fourth-and-two at the Newport Harbor four-yard line, Kobe Benter and Cole O’Neil stuffed the play for no gain.
Simmons now leads Orange County with 1,303 yards rushing.
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Coach Jeff Brinkley said after the game that his team needed to improve on turnovers and special teams. The Sailors turned it over three times against Huntington Beach, including on the second play from scrimmage. Quarterback Michael Bonds completed a short pass to the running back, who fumbled. The ball popped forward and was recovered by Huntington Beach’s Bradley Partch, who ran it in to give the Oilers a 7-0 lead with 11:42 remaining in the first quarter.
The Oilers scored another defensive touchdown in the second quarter on John Davis’ 95-yard interception return for a touchdown, which came off a deflected pass. The turnovers contributed to the Sailors being down, 27-13, at halftime.
“We knew the first half, if we didn’t turn the dumb ball over and give them two touchdowns, it would have been a different situation going into halftime,” Brinkley said.
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Brinkley said that the Sailors were forced to turn to Kobe Benter late in the game as longsnapper, after Alex Michaelsen was injured. The snap was high on a punt with about a minute left, forcing punter Riley Blake to just fall on the ball at his own 20-yard line. It seemed disastrous with the score tied at 27-27, until the Oilers missed a 36-yard field goal attempt.
But Benter made up for it on defense in the overtime period, hitting Huntington Beach quarterback Kobee Lagarde as he threw. It led to a wobbly pass that Newport’s Dalton Rosene was easily able to intercept.
— Matt Szabo
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CORONA DEL MAR
Corona del Mar High continued its success in the Pacific Coast League by picking up its 17th straight win in league with a 52-20 blowout of Beckman at Jim Scott Stadium on Thursday night.
The Sea Kings (5-2, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division poll, expect a challenge next week, when they travel to University. The Trojans (7-0, 2-0) are off to their best start in eight years.
CdM last lost to University six years ago, when it went winless in league. The Sea Kings have gone 21-1-1 in league since that 2009 campaign, claiming four of the past five league championships.
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The Sea Kings have allowed a 100-yard rusher in back-to-back games for the first time in three years.
This concerns CdM Coach Dan O’Shea.
“I’m not sure we played great defense tonight,” said O’Shea, who saw Beckman’s Jake Groves rush 17 times for 143 yards and one touchdown, a week after Woodbridge’s Connor McBride went for 169 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. “Especially in the run game I thought we got exposed.”
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Chase Garbers went into the game against Beckman without having thrown a touchdown in league play this year.
The junior erupted in CdM’s second league game, throwing six touchdowns to set a CdM single-game record. Garbers completed 25 of 30 passes for 324 yards.
Garbers had shared the school’s previous touchdown passing mark of five with Dave Terry and Brent Lawson.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza
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SAGE HILL
For the third straight game, Sage Hill School played without play-making junior receiver-safety-linebacker Jacob Copeland. But senior receiver-cornerback David Dewey showed his own big-play capability in the Lightning’s 52-7 Academy League loss at St, Margaret’s on Friday.
Dewey used his hands to create separation on a sideline fade pattern in the second quarter, fielded Caden Sheetz’s arching spiral and finished the play for an 80-yard touchdown.
Dewey, who finished with six receptions for 113 yards, also had a would-be big play late in the third quarter nullified by a penalty. He fielded a kickoff at his own five-yard line, then darted around and dashed through would-be tacklers for what would have been a nifty 58-yard return. But a holding call brought the ball back to the Lightning 13-yard line.
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Sage Hill has a reputation for sterling academics. But part of the ongoing challenge for Lightning football coaches is a suspect supply of athletic IQ for the players. Though coaches drilled Lightning defenders all week about not flinching when St. Margaret’s linemen snap into their three-point stances at the sound of a louder, staccato cadence, Lightning linemen jumped three times in the first quarter, resulting in encroachment penalties.
Finally, the Sage Hill coaching staff called timeout to summon the players and verbally challenge their lack of focus on an issue they had ample preparation to combat. Seconds after the timeout huddle near the sideline broke, one defensive assistant, hoping to drive the point home, asked a veteran linebacker to remind his teammates about reacting only to the movement of the ball in the neutral zone.
To their credit, Lightning players were not flagged again for jumping offsides.
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The lopsided loss for Sage Hill gave Coach Abram Booty and his staff the opportunity to provide seasoning for some younger reserves. Two freshmen who stood out in that mix were defensive back Bobby Schultze and receiver Eddie Pelc.
— Barry Faulkner
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COSTA MESA
Costa Mesa High quarterback Ben Swanson had to wait a couple of series before he played for the first time since going down with a shoulder injury on Sept. 18.
Against Estancia, the Mustangs started junior Christian Villaverde, who hadn’t played quarterback this year. They moved the chains once with Villaverde as the signal caller.
A couple of plays after Villaverde got a first down with a seven-yard run, a bad snap to Villaverde stopped the drive. Costa Mesa turned the ball over.
Getting the ball to the quarterback in shotgun was an issue for the Mustangs.
Swanson also saw one snap go over his head early in the second quarter that resulted in Estancia recovering the ball on the 43. Late in the first half, a low snap forced Swanson to pounce on the ball for a six-yard loss. The same thing happened in the third quarter.
The snaps killed drives, and when center Sammy Swanson got the ball to his younger brother, Ben wasn’t effective. The sophomore completed 14 of 28 passes for 126 yards, and he threw two interceptions.
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Costa Mesa’s best start in four years ended with its second scoreless outing in three games in league.
The Mustangs lost to Calvary Chapel, 40-0, in last year’s league finale.
The latest offensive performance saw Costa Mesa rush for 12 yards and pass for 125 yards. The Mustangs turned the ball over four times, twice on the ground and twice through the air.
Costa Mesa faces Godinez (3-4, 1-1) next week at Jim Scott Stadium. The Mustangs posted a 24-0 shutout against the Grizzlies last year, when Godinez finished 0-10.
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Costa Mesa has dropped five out of the last six meetings to the Estancia. The Mustangs have lost by an average of 18.6 points per game.
— David Carrillo Peñaloza