He fumbled not once, not twice, but three times, losing two of them to the Mustangs, as they taunted him with each carry, shouting, “Fumble!”
But in the fourth quarter, Murtha, a star-in-the-making for the unbeaten Eagles, silenced them with an electrifying 40-yard touchdown run that virtually ended the game.
“Of course there’s no excuse for those mistakes,” Murtha said. “You can’t make those in a game like this, but I redeemed myself. But I also wish I would’ve played better for my team because I’m more about my team. My head wasn’t in it, but I picked it up.”
Murtha finished with 116 yards on 16 carries and was in on a tackle for a safety. Yet, even after Estancia’s 30-14 victory, Murtha appeared disappointed. His father, Robert Sr., who played for Costa Mesa in his day, called it the worst game his son had ever played.
Maybe there was too much emotion wrapped in the week, too much drama. On the other sideline was Costa Mesa Coach Byron Williams in his first year with the Mustangs after coaching Costa Mesa Pop Warner, Murtha and a handful of his teammates included.
Thursday was a big game, a chance for the Eagles to say unbeaten on the season against their rivals in their Orange Coast League opener. For Murtha, it was huge. In addition to all the varsity hoopla, he wanted to perform well against his former Pop Warner coach and against the school his dad played for. And just to add to the story, he wanted to represent, as Murtha’s mother, Christine, graduated from Estancia.
