Estancia rising to occasion

Rick Devereux

Even though the Estancia High football team lost, 23-21, Friday to

Orange in both teams’ Golden West League opener, it was a moral

victory for the Eagles. The previous two seasons, the Panthers beat

Estancia by a combined 90-0.

“Everybody has been coming up to me saying what a great job we

did,” Coach Craig Fertig said. “No we didn’t. It’s all about wins and

loses.”

While the Eagles were picked by league coaches to finish last,

Fertig has the team at 2-2 and it gave the defending Golden West

League champions a scare.

“We’ve got to win the darn thing,” Fertig said. “We played awfully

well. The effort of our team was outstanding. The thing is, when we

needed a play, we made a play, but someone fouled up to bring it

back.”

The Eagles were penalized 11 times for 71 yards. A holding call

negated a 27-yard pass at the end of the second quarter. Another hold

canceled a 12-yard run in the third quarter. An offsides pushed a

third-and-inches into a third-and-five. A 39-yard run in the fourth

quarter was called back because of offsides.

“We did the job except for a guy here and a guy there,” Fertig

said. “We gave it the best effort I’ve seen since I’ve been here.

But, if you’re going to win big games, and I’ve been in big games in

my life, everybody needs to do their job pristine.”

The varsity team was not the only squad to give Orange all it

could handle. The Estancia junior varsity lost, 21-20, to the

Panthers.

Nelson Leon, who was taken off the field in the fourth quarter on

a stretcher and transported to Hoag Hospital, was cleared to play.

Fertig said the center and defensive tackle received a stinger and

will practice this week.

The Eagles (2-2) travel to Garden Grove Thursday for a nonleague

game against the undefeated Argonauts (4-0).

* NEWPORT HARBOR: It may seem more and more difficult to find

flaws in the Sailors’ play considering they are 4-0, ranked No. 1 in

CIF Southern Section Division VI, and have beaten their opponents by

an average score of 27.8-11. But Coach Jeff Brinkley is always

looking at ways Newport Harbor can improve.

“We always try to get better every week,” he said. “I don’t like

the fact that we had a couple of breakdowns on special teams. On the

other hand, we have been very, very good on certain aspects of

special teams. We have blocked two punts and had a couple of big

returns. But I’d like see us improve our kick coverage.”

In the 35-20 win over Dana Hills, linebacker/tight end Greg Miner

blocked a first-quarter punt and wide receiver/defensive back Alex

Orth recovered the ball for a touchdown.

After reviewing the game on tape, Brinkley was even more impressed

with the way the backups stepped up to fill holes left by injured

starters.

“I liked the way we ran the football,” he said. “Thomas Martin

[starting for the injured Trevor Theriot] ran extremely hard. My only

concern with him was he had played in only one other game [because of

a stomach ailment] and still wasn’t in great condition.”

Martin, also the starting middle linebacker, took more breathers

on defense than on offense. Taylor Young saw his most extensive

playing time at linebacker since returning from a broken ankle. When

Martin needed rest, Young played middle linebacker and junior Billy

Brown played outside ‘backer.

“Brown is playing real well for us,” Brinkley said. “He has been

thrust into the role as the next ‘backer for us. That’s what this

team has been about: guys getting the job done when someone goes

down.”

Brinkley said he will wait for the medical evaluation to determine

when Theriot will be back in the lineup. It is possible the Sailors’

leading rusher and captain could play Friday at Mira Costa (2-2).

The Mustangs are No. 4 in CIF Division III and were 12-1 last

year, with the loss coming in the Division III semifinals to eventual

champion Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

* SAGE HILL: Freshman quarterback Jamie McGee has been eased into

the position by Lightning Coach Tom Monarch and his staff.

The number of throwing opportunities has increased every game,

with McGee attempting 18 passes in Sage’s 35-0 victory over Fairmont

Saturday. While McGee completed eight, including his first two

touchdown passes of his career, Monarch said the freshman could have

had more.

“There were two dropped touchdowns, so he easily could have had

four TD passes,” Monarch said.

Monarch said McGee has benefited from having experienced players

around him, including running back Keya Manshadi and wide receiver

Braden Ross. Manshadi leads the team with eight touchdowns and, Ross,

last season’s quarterback, leads the team with 11 receptions for 119

yards. Both caught touchdowns against Fairmont.

“I think the key is that not only are [Manshadi and Ross] athletic

and experienced in football,” Monarch said, “they lend a hand in

leadership, too. [McGee is] a young quarterback surrounded by

leaders, so there is less responsibility on his shoulders.”

Monarch said Manshadi, a junior, and Ross, a sophomore, help McGee

during games, but the real advantage comes during the week.

“They are very supportive of each other,” Monarch said. “Keya,

Braden and Jamie are constantly talking in practice, trying to help

each other out in terms of timing, patterns and situational plays.

There is continuous communication between those three.”

Sage Hill (3-1) hosts Viewpoint (2-3) Friday. Kickoff is

tentatively set for 3 p.m.

* CORONA DEL MAR: Coach Dick Freeman said the lingering

psychological and physical effects, from the devastating 21-17 loss

to Newport Harbor Sept. 23 definitely played a role in the 33-3 loss

to Valencia Saturday.

“There is an emotional drain,” Freeman said. “We weren’t flat, but

we weren’t too emotional.”

As for the physical effects, Freeman said the defense was hurt the

most. Against the Sailors, Tyler Lance is out indefinitely with a

broken right foot, Wess Presson sprained a toe and Kevin Welch was

ejected from the game in the third quarter, forcing him to sit out

Saturday, as per CIF rules. Presson and Welch are the top two

safeties for CdM, while Lance had been a starting outside linebacker.

“Because our safeties were out, we ended up doing coverage stuff

we didn’t want to do and got hurt,” Freeman said. “Defensively, we

played all right, especially since we held [Rylon Thomas] to under

100 yards rushing.”

A slowed Presson, added to the absence of Welch and Lance also

hurt the offense, though Freeman said Valencia, No. 4 in CIF Division

VI, had a powerful defense that would be tough to score on with a

healthy squad.

Presson is the leading rusher with 651 yards and seven touchdowns

on 85 carries.

Welch is the leading receiver with 11 catches for 221 yards and

three scores.

Lance, who started the first three games at tight end, had three

receptions for 26 yards and was a key blocker for an offensive line

that has paved the way for 1,142 rushing yards.

Freeman said the bye week has come at a perfect time for Corona

del Mar (3-2) because the team will be allowed to recuperate from its

injuries and focus on starting Pacific Coast League action Oct. 16

against Calvary Chapel on a winning note.

* COSTA MESA: Despite giving up one more sack in five fewer pass

plays, Mustangs Coach Tom Baldwin said he saw improvement from his

offensive line against Westminster compared to its performance

against Laguna Beach.

“We had a lot better protection than the week before,” he said.

“We still had trouble on blitzes, though.”

Though sacked five times by the Lions, quarterback Ryan French was

6 of 14 for 128 yards and one touchdown in the Golden West League

opener. Against the Breakers, French was 5 of 20 for 74 yards.

“We want our quarterbacks to complete 50% of their passes and he

was pretty close,” Baldwin said. “But [Westminster] put three

[defenders] on Jeff Waldron.”

Only two Costa Mesa players caught passes in the 42-7 loss to the

Lions, Waldron and his younger brother, Cody. Even with triple

coverage, Jeff was able to haul in a game-high five receptions for

116 yards and one touchdown. Baldwin said more people need to be

involved in the offense for the Mustangs to be effective.

“We need to get the ball to a couple of other receivers,” Baldwin

said. “To negate the rush, we need to get the ball outside on the

perimeter in a hurry. If we can do that, [the defense] has to stop

blitzing.”

Costa Mesa (0-5, 0-1 in league) will play its homecoming game

Friday against Santa Ana (3-1, 1-0). The game was originally

scheduled for Orange Coast College, but cars are not allowed on

LeBard Stadium’s new FieldTurf , so it was moved to Newport Harbor

High.