Estancia’s threat at tight end
In his first start as a tight end, Konrad O’Daly produced the kind of receiving yards and touchdowns someone at his position usually ends the season with at Estancia High.
O’Daly’s debut with the Eagles turned out to be a gem last week. He finished with eight catches for 220 yards and three touchdowns in Estancia’s 37-14 season-opening win on the road against Loara.
Mike Bargas is already calling O’Daly the best tight end he has ever coached during his nine years at Estancia. O’Daly didn’t even catch a pass last year, his older brother, Dalton, was the team’s pass-catching threat that season as a senior.
Not even Dalton put up the kind of numbers Konrad had in one game. That didn’t stop Dalton from pulling his brother aside after the Loara game.
“Being the older brother, he gave me his tips, his advice, and then eventually said, ‘Good job!’” Konrad said. “Like when the first hitch I ran, he said I needed to rip and I could’ve been gone. Since he’s played and he started his junior year and senior year, I take some of his advice.”
Konrad is 23 receptions, 338 yards and three touchdowns away from surpassing Dalton’s top year with the Eagles. If defenses keep stacking the line of scrimmage against Estancia, the younger O’Daly might reach those numbers in the next two games.
Loara blitzed the Eagles throughout, and quarterback Connor Brown kept finding O’Daly. About half of the time O’Daly was wide open. Brown and O’Daly hooked up on touchdown passes of 20, 61 and 53 yards.
The most impressive of the touchdowns was the last one, the 53-yarder. Near Loara’s 25-yard line, O’Daly shed a tackle and took off for the end zone.
“To be honest, we didn’t think he had the speed that he did,” Bargas said. “Maybe he ran out of fear or something.”
Bargas credits O’Daly losing 15 pounds in the off-season for his increase in speed. O’Daly said he followed the program’s off-season workout plan and played volleyball in the spring, and the weight came off.
Bargas believes someone else motivated O’Daly as well.
“[He] got a girlfriend,” Bargas said with a smile. “I think that helps.”
Helping O’Daly amass his stats was Loara’s defensive approach, which dictated the Eagles airing it out. They tend to run the ball more out of the West Coast offense, but Brown threw it 21 times, completing 16 passes for 345 yards.
The offensive line gave Brown, who set career highs for completions and yards, and matched his best for touchdowns, enough time to throw to O’Daly. Estancia went into the opener missing two senior starters on the offensive line, right guard Juan Lozada and center Justin Masri. Bargas moved Kainoa Korionoff to center and shifted Alejandro Mondragon to right guard, while Jay Enciso played right tackle, Israel Arroyo was the left guard, and Jason Jones lined up at left tackle.
Masri is expected back Friday, when the Eagles, ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll, play host to Pacifica (1-0) at 7 p.m. Lozada is a game-time decision. Bargas said the Mariners are big on the line, and they return several players off a team that blew out the Eagles, 34-14, a year ago.
Last year, O’Daly was a backup tight end and the long snapper. In his senior year, he’s in the starting lineup now. While O’Daly doesn’t look menacing at 6-foot and 155 pounds, and doesn’t possess the best speed or hands on the team, his intelligence stands out to Bargas.
“It just builds confidence for us offensively to be able to throw him the ball,” said Bargas, whose team has found a weapon in O’Daly.
—
Konrad O’Daly
Born: Sept. 29, 1998
Hometown: Costa Mesa
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 155 pounds
Sport: Football
Year: Senior
Coach: Mike Bargas
Favorite food: Cheeseburger
Favorite movie: “Silverado”
Favorite athletic moment: “Every time I get to be out there with the team.”
Week in review: O’Daly finished with eight receptions for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ 37-14 win against Loara.
