Trevor Pacheco leads Estancia to fifth straight Battle for the Bell win over Costa Mesa

Estancia High football coach Mike Bargas would have none of it when it came to the subject of running up the score.

The Eagles could not say for certain that a win would put them in the CIF Southern Section Division 13 playoffs.

With that in mind, Bargas approached the Orange Coast League game as though it could be the last for his seniors, paving the way for star running back Trevor Pacheco to have a huge night against crosstown rival Costa Mesa.

Pacheco rushed 17 times for 255 yards and six touchdowns, leading the host Eagles to a 75-0 win in the 52nd edition of the Battle for the Bell game at Jim Scott Stadium on Friday.

Coming into the evening, Bargas said that he felt his team had a “50-50 shot” to receive a berth into the playoffs. Although Estancia (6-4, 3-2 in league) claimed third place in a six-team league, the division is crowded with 81 total schools, which is 35 more than any other division.

“It’s his last game, so I really don’t care because I’m trying to get our guys, if this is the last game they’re going to get to play, I wanted to make sure I get them some reps out there,” Bargas said of keeping the starters in during the second half, resulting in the largest margin of victory in the Battle for the Bell series. “I feel bad because I’ve been on the opposite end of that spectrum, too, but it’s a disservice to those guys.”

Estancia High running back Trevor Pacheco celebrates one of his six rushing touchdowns against Costa Mesa in the Battle for the Bell rivalry game at Jim Scott Stadium on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The game got lopsided enough that Bargas did eventually have his team kneel on the ball three times with the Eagles inside the opponent’s two in the fourth quarter.

Pacheco surpassed the 200-yard mark on the ground for the fourth time this season. At one point, he found the end zone on three consecutive carries.

The 5-foot-6 senior used his low center of gravity to shake off defenders when he ran through the middle of the line. He also displayed both speed and balance in breaking a 74-yard run for a touchdown to make it 33-0 at the 10:09 mark of the second quarter.

Estancia also drew up a halfback pass for Pacheco. He ran to his left, reversed field, and found a wide-open Hayden Pearce for a 36-yard catch and run down to the Costa Mesa two. Quarterback Jaycen Cash ran it across the goal line on the next play, giving the Eagles a 54-0 halftime lead.

“It’s amazing,” Pacheco said after producing 298 yards of total offense. “I couldn’t have done it without my line, though. Everyone, receivers blocking, working together. This game was close to perfect.”

Raul Gonzalez, David Palacios and Tony Valdez recorded sacks for the Eagles.

Gonzalez, a three-year starting lineman for Estancia, talked about his best memories as an Eagle.

“The best was being with my brothers out here and working hard together,” Gonzalez said. “We fought sometimes, just like brothers do, but it’s still fun to work and stuff. We still love each other.

“It meant a lot to me, and I’ve been here for four years doing this. I hope it’s not our last one. I hope we still have at least one more game.”

Estancia High’s Nathan Guyot evades a tackle and runs for a 40-yard touchdown in the second quarter of the Battle for the Bell rivalry game against Costa Mesa on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Nathan Guyot had a 40-yard rushing touchdown on a wide receiver end-around play. He added a 35-yard touchdown reception from Cash in the second half.

Costa Mesa (0-10, 0-5) suffered its fifth winless season in program history. It marks the first such season for the Mustangs since 1989. The Mustangs were also shut out for sixth time this year.

Emanuel Ortega had a 20-yard run on his second carry of the game, by far the biggest play of the game for Costa Mesa.

Ryan Bourbeau and Chris Fletcher had tackles for losses for the Mustangs’ defense. Those were the only few times Costa Mesa stopped Estancia, which beat the Mustangs for the fifth straight year and improved to 32-19-1 in the series.

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Orange Coast League

Estancia 75, Costa Mesa 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Costa Mesa 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 — 0

Estancia 27 – 27 – 14 – 7 — 75

FIRST QUARTER

E – T. Pacheco 43 run (kick failed), 9:47.

E – Pearce 18 pass Cash (Douglass kick), 4:29.

E – T. Pacheco 18 run (Douglass kick), 2:44.

E – Guyot 40 run (Douglass kick), :26.

SECOND QUARTER

E – T. Pacheco 74 run (run failed), 10:09.

E – T. Pacheco 19 run (Douglass kick), 7:17.

E – T. Pacheco 2 run (Douglass kick), 5:46.

E – Cash 2 run (Douglass kick), :05.

THIRD QUARTER

E – T. Pacheco 49 run (Douglass kick), 11:05.

E – Guyot 35 pass Cash (Douglass kick), 7:24.

FOURTH QUARTER

E – Sotomayor 18 run (Douglass kick), 5:12.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

CM – Ortega, 12-28.

E – Pacheco, 17-255, 6 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

CM – Paxson, 2-6-0, 0.

E – Cash, 8-12-0, 135, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

CM – Trujillo, 1-0.

E – Guyot, 4-99, 2 TDs.

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