Two-Minute Drill: Eagles suffer loss in win

Estancia High earned an impressive 28-3 win over Costa Mesa in the Battle for the Bell game Friday night at Jim Scott Stadium.

It enabled the Eagles (5-2, 2-0 in the Orange Coast League), ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll, to take back the bell that the Mustangs won last year. It also helped Estancia stay in a first-place tie in league with Saddleback.

But there was one significant loss for Estancia on Friday. Senior two-way lineman Brian Southwick was injured and could be out for the season, Coach Mike Bargas said Tuesday.

“He got ‘high-lowed’ that game,” Bargas said of Southwick, who was playing left tackle at the time of the injury early in the second quarter.

Southwick had an MRI on Tuesday afternoon and Bargas was awaiting the result, but said that Southwick could have possible ACL and meniscus tears. He’s definitely out this week when the Eagles play host to Laguna Beach.

Bargas said that he will switch junior Jason Jones from right tackle to left tackle, and either senior Enrique Sotomayor or senior Erni Gutierrez could start at right tackle. On defense, sophomore Colby Arensdorf could replace Southwick at tackle.

Southwick was one of four two-way starters on the line, a list that also includes Jones and seniors Kevin Valencia and Dorian Navarette.

— Matt Szabo

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The Eagles could have produced a more lopsided victory over Costa Mesa (1-6, 1-1). But Bargas credited the Mustangs for hanging in there.

Mistakes also hurt Estancia, which turned over the ball twice in its first three possessions, once on a fumbled snap and once on an interception.

The Eagles also missed a 30-yard field goal on their opening drive of the third quarter, and were unable to extend their lead past 14-0 until midway through the fourth quarter.

Still, Estancia finished strong behind sophomore tailback Dylan Laurent, who iced the game with a pair of touchdown runs late. Laurent finished with 190 yards rushing on just 14 carries, and three touchdowns.

Bargas credited his defensive line, as well as linebackers Tyler Thomas, Ronnie Urquiza and sophomore Jeffrey Alai, for providing a tough front.

“I thought we out-conditioned them a little bit,” Bargas said. “We were still hitting on all cylinders toward the end.”

— Matt Szabo

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Costa Mesa provided something you won’t typically see in a high school football game. Twice, the Mustangs punted on third down.

Coach Wally Grant decided to punt on third-and-11 from the Mustangs’ 35-yard line midway through the third quarter. Cameron Curet’s punt was downed at the Estancia 19-yard line.

Mesa again punted on third down on its first possession of the second half, facing a third-and-nine from its own 21-yard line.

The Mustangs overall were stifled, with just three plays from scrimmage of more than 10 yards. Three of them were runs: an 18-yard scamper by Mason Mataafa, an 11-yard run by Curet and a 14-yard run by quarterback Sammy Swanson.

“I don’t have a third down-and-10 play,” Grant said after the game, addressing the third-down punts. “My job’s to get it to fourth-and-three. I can make fourth-and-three; we did it. I’m not going to be able to make fourth-and-eight, fourth-and-10.”

— Matt Szabo

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The Corona del Mar High football team is accenting the coast in the Pacific Coast League in recent years..

The Sea Kings’ 41-3 thumping of league rival Woodbridge on Friday at Newport Harbor High was their 14th straight win against PCL foes, dating back to the 2011 CIF Southern Section Southern Division championship game in which it edged Beckman, 14-13.

During the streak, which also includes a 25-0 playoff win over Woodbridge in 2012, CdM (6-1, 2-0 in league), ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southwest Division and bidding for a fourth straight section title, has outscored opponents, 468-112. That’s an average victory margin of 33.4 to 8. In league games during the streak, the average margin is 35.8 to 8.3.

The Sea Kings’ next two opponents (University on Friday and Beckman on Oct. 30), are a combined 4-4, 1-3 in league and neither is ranked in the Southwest Division.

Also unranked is fellow PCL leader Northwood (6-1, 2-0), against which CdM closes out the regular season on Nov. 7.

— Barry Faulkner

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CdM senior Barrett Barbato burst up the middle for a 62-yard touchdown run on the Sea Kings’ first offensive play Friday.

But while it was his first carry of the season, it was not his first varsity rushing attempt. The 6-foot-1, 202-pounder, who had been starting at safety, carried once as a junior (for 26 yards) and gained 45 yards on 14 attempts as a sophomore.

It was, however, the first varsity touchdown for Barbato, who doubled that total on his final carry of the night with 2:13 left in the first half.

Barbato, who has six career interceptions and one fumble recovery as a member of the secondary, finished with 114 rushing yards on eight carries. He also caught one pass for 14 more yards.

Even with the aforementioned 62-yard bolt to paydirt, his most impressive run of the night netted just 12 yards. That run came on the fifth of CdM’s six first-half touchdown drives, on second-and-six from the Woodbridge 31-yard line. Barbato took a handoff to the right and plowed into the line, where a wall of tacklers appeared to have him stopped. But he kept churning and repelling defenders until he was able to break free, only to be forced out of bounds after picking up the first down.

“He’s a physical, strong guy,” CdM Coach Scott Meyer said of Barbato, who was called upon after senior Cole Martin (concussion) and sophomore Jaydin Moses (foot problem), who had combined for 743 rushing yards and five touchdowns, were held out against Woodbridge.

— Barry Faulkner

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Newport Harbor High lost to Los Alamitos, 62-27, in a Sunset League game last week, and it lost a couple of more players to injuries.

The Sailors, who use multiple players on both sides of the ball, saw defensive backs Booker Hoey and Reed Rutter go down at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. Coach Jeff Brinkley said Hoey, a senior who also lines up at wide receiver, suffered a shoulder stinger and Rutter, a junior, a broken arm. Brinkley said Hoey is expected to return, while Rutter is out for the season.

The team is missing other key players. Newport Harbor lost senior Chance Siemonsma, a tailback and safety, to a season-ending knee injury in the third game of the year, sophomore middle linebacker Cole Smith hasn’t played since suffering a concussion in the fourth game, and junior Joey Stukonis, a left tackle and defensive tackle, is done after fracturing his ankle in the sixth game.

The Sailors (3-4, 1-1 in league) enter their Friday’s game against defending league champion Edison (5-2, 2-0) at Huntington Beach High at 7 p.m. banged up. Newport Harbor last beat the Chargers in 1979.

“We’ve got to come back next week and try and compete with Edison,” Brinkley said.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

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Dylan Laurent has continued to be a steady performer at tailback for the Eagles.

His senior brother Christian got most of the work running the ball early Friday night, with seven carries in the first half to Dylan’s four.

But Dylan Laurent, who Bargas said could be his team’s best overall athlete, exploded in the second half.

“He’s elusive,” Bargas said of Dylan, who is 5-foot-8 and 152 pounds. “He’s a little guy, but he’s got no fear. We have a lot of good players, but he’s special, especially being a sophomore.”

Laurent now has 485 yards rushing and eight touchdowns this season, and is averaging 8.4 yards per carry.

— Matt Szabo

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Cole Norris is four touchdowns away from breaking his own Newport Harbor single-season touchdown passing mark of 27.

The Northern Arizona-bound senior has thrown for 23 touchdowns this year, giving him 66 touchdowns for a career. Norris ranks eighth all-time in Orange County for touchdown passes in a career. The county record is 90 and is shared by Sage Hill’s Jamie McGee (2004-07) and Orange Lutheran’s Jason Whieldon (1997-99).

This year, Norris has completed 143 of 223 passes for 1,811 yards, with five interceptions.

For his career, Norris has thrown for 6,233 yards. Norris is 274 yards away from overtaking Trabuco Hills’ Pat Barnes (1990-92) in the 10th spot in county history for career passing yards. Mater Dei’s Matt Barkley (2005-08), who’s from Newport Beach, is the county leader for career passing yards (9,471)

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

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The 62 points the Sailors allowed last week to Los Alamitos are the most they have given up in a game in their 84-year history.

The previous mark was 55 points set by Bolsa Grande 50 years ago. Los Alamitos surpassed that number when it rushed for a four-yard touchdown four minutes into the fourth quarter.

Los Alamitos rushed 44 times for 340 yards and seven touchdowns, and completed 14 of 17 passes for 254 yards and one touchdown. The Griffins also returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza

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After driving to the CdM six-yard line on 12 plays and kicking a 28-yard field goal after receiving the opening kickoff, Woodbridge did not cross midfield again until early in the fourth quarter.

Even against scores of backups — led by sophomore tackle Teddy Barber, who was in on two sacks and another tackle for a four-yard loss — Woodbridge failed to score after intermission. Two second-half Woodbridge possessions were ended by interceptions and the CdM defense held on downs after the Warriors had first-and-goal at the eight midway through the final period.

Woodbridge produced just 59 of its 209 yards of total offense after halftime.

— Barry Faulkner