Football: Estancia stays hot against Ocean View

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Estancia High’s Mike Bargas is more of a conservative coach. He went against his ways twice in the third quarter of a tight game at Ocean View on Friday.

The first time Bargas decided to gamble, his quarterback, Connor Brown, talked him into it. On the first drive of the second half, the Eagles went for it on a fourth-and-two situation on their 28. The defense stopped Brown at the line of scrimmage on a quarterback sneak, and Ocean View went on to score a touchdown to cut the deficit to one.

Faced with a second fourth-and-short situation in the third quarter, this time deep inside the opponent’s side, Bargas called a timeout before his kicker attempted a 26-yard field goal.

“I didn’t want to have him kick the field goal,” Bargas said. “I told the [coaches] in the headsets, ‘Seven points are better than three.’ They told me [we needed four yards for a first down, so I said], ‘Let’s go for it.’ It was a calculated risk.”

The move worked. Brown moved the chains, completing a seven-yard pass, and the Eagles scored on the next play to take an eight-point lead. Estancia never looked back, closing out nonleague play with a 34-20 win.

The victory is the second in a row for the Eagles (3-2), and they head into their Orange Coast League opener with momentum. The matchup against Ocean View (3-2) was sort of a rehearsal for Estancia, ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division poll.

Estancia plays Calvary Chapel next week, and Calvary Chapel runs a similar spread offense as Ocean View. The Seahawks’ version looked sharp on the game’s opening drive.

They wasted little time, 2 minutes, 5 seconds, to take the lead. The Seahawks covered 80 yards in six plays, the last play saw quarterback Blake Meyer hook up with receiver Cory Tocchetti on a 28-yard touchdown pass.

The game’s next score came midway through the second quarter, courtesy of a long drive by Estancia. The Eagles marched 91 yards in 15 plays, chewing off almost six minutes off the clock. Eleven of the Eagles’ plays were runs, almost half by tailback Christian Laurent, who finished with 17 carries for 79 yards. The senior found the end zone, cutting back to the left on a seven-yard run to help the Eagles tie the game at 7-7.

Laurent gave Estancia its first lead with 72 seconds left in the first half. The play that set up the go-ahead score fooled the defense. Brown threw a lateral pass to running back Ronnie Urquiza, who went right and then hit receiver Dalton O’Daly for a 37-yard pass. On the next play, Estancia went to the right side again, burning the defense. Brown threw a screen pass to Laurent, and he raced in for a 28-yard touchdown. The scoring drive took only two plays and 20 seconds to complete.

For the second straight week, Estancia closed out the first half strong, scoring with 49 seconds to go against University last week and 1:12 to go against Ocean View. With two straight wins on the road, the Eagles return to Jim Scott Stadium to face Calvary Chapel.

“It’s always a good thing to go out with a victory in preseason,” said Dylan Laurent, a cornerback who helped the defense slow down an Ocean View offense that averaged 45 points in its previous two games.

Laurent picked off a pass in the first quarter, and the Eagles only allowed Meyer to complete 13 of 33 passes for 193 yards. The defense was put in a tough spot two minutes into the second half after the Eagles turned the ball over on downs on their 28.

Miguel Cardoso eventually rushed in to cut Estancia’s lead to 14-13. The Seahawks failed to even things up, as Estancia blocked the low extra-point attempt.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Seahawks made another mistake on special teams. They kicked the ball to Laurent, and he returned it 59 yards. With great field position, starting on the opponent’s 40-yard line, the Eagles needed eight plays, a big one to convert a first down on fourth-and-four inside the 10-yard line. Brown rolled to his right and connected with fullback Tyler Thomas on a seven-yard pass. A play later, Urquiza rushed in for a two-yard touchdown to give Estancia a 21-13 lead.

The lead grew to 14 points with a minute left in the third quarter. The Seahawks kicked to Laurent again, and the sophomore returned the punt 91 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles were on their way to defeating Ocean View for the third consecutive year.

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Estancia 34, Ocean View 20

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Estancia 0 – 14 – 13 – 7 — 34

Ocean View 7 – 0 – 6 – 7 — 20

FIRST QUARTER

OV – C. Tocchetti 28 pass from Meyer (Calderon kick), 9:55.

SECOND QUARTER

E – C. Laurent 7 run (Perez kick), 6:33.

E – C. Laurent 28 pass from Brown (Perez kick), 1:12.

THIRD QUARTER

OV – Cardoso 2 run (kick blocked), 7:14.

E – Urquiza 2 run (Perez kick), 4:18.

E – D. Laurent 91 punt return (kick failed), 1:00.

FOURTH QUARTER

E – Thomas 4 run (Moya kick), 6:51.

OV – G. Tocchetti 1 run (Calderon kick), 2:37.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

E – C. Laurent, 17-79, 1 TD.

OV – G. Tocchetti, 20-94, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

E – Brown, 10-18-1, 143, 1 TD.

OV – Meyer, 13-33-1, 000, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

E – D. O’Daly, 2-62.

OV – C. Tocchetti, 4-70, 1 TD.