Fertig era opens with dominance

Barry Faulkner

There are those USC replica uniforms and the time-honored Trojan hero

at the helm. But Estancia High football players said it would all

have been for show, had they not taken care of visiting Magnolia in

the nonleague season opener Friday at Orange Coast College.

But that is exactly what the Eagles, under first-year coach Craig

Fertig, did, rolling to a 24-8 victory that wasn’t nearly as close as

the score.

But in the aftermath of a win that ended a nine-game Estancia

losing streak, Fertig and his charges were clearly focused on the

road ahead.

“We won tonight, but now we have to teach them how to really win,”

said Fertig, noting a lackluster fourth quarter in which Magnolia

scored its only points and compiled about half of its 185 offensive

yards.

“It feels extraordinary,” said Estancia senior lineman Gary Jones,

who endured a 1-18 record his first two varsity seasons. “I knew we

were ready at the start of the week. The difference, this year, is

the team. It’s a good group of guys and we have good coaching. We

want to celebrate tonight, but we want to focus on the rest of the

season, too.”

That focus may not have been there following last season’s 19-8

season-opening win over Magnolia, after which the Eagles lost every

game and were outscored, 339-49.

“I think we’ve learned a lot from last year,” said senior running

back-linebacker Bubba Kapko, who bulled for a career-high 160 yards

and one touchdown on 22 rushing attempts. “Last year, we got a little

cocky after that first win and it really messed us up.”

Estancia’s dominance over three quarters Friday was enough to

prompt a little chest pounding within a program that has not won a

CIF Southern Section playoff game since 1980.

The Eagles drove 80 yards on 10 plays to open the scoring, with

junior tailback David Moreno capping the procession by bouncing 14

yards off right tackle. Moreno left with a separated shoulder in the

second quarter.

Junior Geo Macias followed with the first of his three conversion

kicks and Estancia was well on its way with 2:02 left in the first

quarter.

Macias added a 22-yard field goal with 1:11 left in the half and

the Eagles expanded the lead to 17-0 with a 12-play, 67-yard drive

that consumed just more than six minutes, after taking the

second-half kickoff.

Kapko, a 5-foot-9, 225-pound fireplug who frequently powered

through and even carried tacklers for yardage, carried five times for

22 yards on the march.

Senior quarterback Brad Young, who threw for 121 yards on the night, completed all three of his passes on the drive, including an

11-yard catch-and-run by senior fullback Mike Cahill, who bowled over

several tacklers on his way to the end zone.

Estancia didn’t wait long to seal the deal, as Landon Pulizzi fell

on a fumble, the second of two Estancia recoveries, at the Magnolia

14 on the first play of the Sentinels’ ensuing possession.

The Eagles cashed it in three plays later, when Kapko barged 5

yards over the right side to paydirt. Macias’ PAT made it 24-0 with

4:57 left in the third quarter.

“I thought the kids played with great intensity,” Fertig said.

“There were some mistakes [two interceptions and three dead-ball

personal fouls] , but we can clean those up. The thing I was most

proud of was the effort all night. I thought our offensive line did a

good job and our defense was outstanding. Our assistant coaches also

did a nice job of getting the kids prepared.”

Fertig, a former USC quarterback and assistant coach, who was the

head man at Oregon State for five seasons, also relished the

experience.

“It was great to be roaming the sidelines again,” he said.

The offensive line of tackles Ian Morton and Gary Strawn, guards

Pulizzi and Jones, as well as center Yousif Muradian and tight end

Alex Becerra, helped pave the way for 218 ground yards and 339 yards

of total offense.

The Eagles amassed 17 first downs, a total not reached in the last

21 games. Estancia also nearly doubled the Sentinels in time of

possession, owning the ball for a little more than 31 of the 48

minutes.

Young completed 10 of 20, using five different receivers, led by

Cahill, who averaged nearly 11 yards on his four catches.

Senior Jason Johnston made a leaping catch for a 30-yard

connection to help the Eagles’ passing attack.

The defense held Magnolia to just 95 yards through three quarters,

as Cahill and Kapko consistently knifed through gaps and the front

wall of Pulizzi, Mike Jones, Gary Jones and Chad Serrell effectively

stuffed the run.

Serrell recoverd a fumble forced by cornerback Kalani Teo and also

recorded a sack, while Cahill had the other sack.

Macias covered well at cornerback and Johnston, playing safety,

wrestled away an interception on a throw up the seam in the fourth

quarter.

Magnolia’s deepest penetration had been the Estancia 47, until

late in the third quarter. The Sentinels (1-9 a year ago) averted the

shutout by driving 59 yards on six plays, as quarterback Kevin

Nichols drove over on a 1-yard sneak, then passed for two points on a

fake out of kick formation with 10:38 left in the game.