Barry Faulkner
LAGUNA BEACH - The Estancia High football team pulled out all the
stops in Thursday night's Pacific Coast League finale at Laguna Beach.
And, as it turned out, the Artists' defense had very few of its own.
The Eagles scored on nine of their first 10 possessions to earn an
oppressive 62-23 victory, which, according to Coach Dave Perkins, puts
them where they need to be heading into the CIF Southern Section Division
IX playoffs.
"We wanted to continue on a roll," said Perkins, whose third straight
win put the Eagles in position to gain a share of the PCL crown, pending
tonight's Corona del Mar-University clash at Orange Coast College.
If CdM wins, Estancia joins the Sea Kings and Trojans in a three-way
tie for first, with a coin flip deciding which teams represent the league
as first-, second- and third-place entries.
If University wins, the Eagles would move past CdM into sole
possession of second place. And, at 7-3, 4-1 in league and ranked No. 10
in CIF Division IX, the Eagles may open their first postseason since 1995
with a home game.
"We didn't think about that," Perkins said, denying any notion he
wanted a big score to impress those who draw up the playoff bracket,
announced Sunday. "We just came out and did our thing. Our kids are just
getting very good at running this offense."
Perkins also had praise for the defense, which posted a season-high
five sacks (for 36 yards in losses), and largely contained the Artists
(2-8, 1-4).
"Our defense played real well tonight," Perkins said. "We did what we
had to do,"
The second-highest scoring output in Estancia's 36 varsity seasons (it
dropped a 63-21 drubbing on Ocean View in 1996), had an inauspicious
beginning.
The Eagles tried an onside kick to open the game and Laguna recovered
and drove to the 1, before settling for a 25-yard Todd Merz field goal.
From there, Estancia pretty much had its way, as 14 different Eagles
carried the ball, three threw passes and six scored touchdowns.
In all, Estancia amassed 541 yards total offense, while upping its
2000 scoring total to a school single-season record 305 points.
Senior fullback Fahad Jahid rushed for 105 yards and two TDs on seven
carries, while senior backfield mate Andy Romo chalked up 88 yards and
two TDs on 12 rushing attempts.
Romo (now 988 yards) and Jahid (919) hope to both surpass the
1,000-yard plateau in the postseason.
Freddy Rodriguez also rolled up 90 yards and a pair of TDs on five
carries, while Jesse Cardenas, a starting defensive end, cashed in his
