Eagles soaring

Patrick Laverty

It was a game that Estancia High’s football team likely would have

lost if it was played in the 2001 or 2002 seasons.

But when Eagles first-year coach Craig Fertig’s postgame comments

centered around teaching his players how to win for the second

straight week, he wasn’t talking about the scoreboard.

After winning just one of 19 games over the last two seasons, the

Eagles are off to a 2-0 start by holding off a second-half rally by

Century to post a 22-20 victory Friday in a nonleague game at Orange

Coast College.

The beginning of the 2003 season is particularly sweet for

Estancia’s collection of seniors who have struggled through the last

two seasons.

“Two-and-0 feels great,� Estancia senior quarterback Brad Young

said. “There’s not a better feeling in the world.�

But the Eagles needed to prove to themselves that they aren’t a

reincarnation of the previous two Estancia squads by holding off

Century (1-1), which they had completely dominated in the first half.

The Centurions pulled within two points on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Christian Ramirez with 5:53 remaining in the game. Ramirez,

who took over at quarterback in the fourth quarter and almost

exclusively ran quarterback draws, had scampered 75 yards two plays

earlier to set up the score.

But on the two-point conversion attempt, junior Mike Jones stood

up Ramirez on another quarterback sneak and the rest of the Eagles

then piled on to maintain Estancia’s 22-20 lead.

After Geo Macias returned the ensuing kickoff to Estancia’s

33-yard line, it was no secret that the Eagles were going to turn to

running backs Bubba Kapko and Mike Cahill in an attempt to run down

the clock.

“I went into the drive thinking we’ve got to score,� Kapko said.

“But we ran out the clock. I’ll take the win.�

The Eagles never gave Century a chance to tie the game, killing

the final 5:45 with a 12-play drive that was highlighted by the

strong running of Kapko.

The senior fullback converted a third-and-nine play with an

11-yard burst off-tackle. He ran for the second first down of the

drive, with a 9-yard jaunt. On third-and-four, Kapko bowled over

defenders for 8 yards.

“I think it showed we have a lot of heart,� Young said. “It was

ugly, as anybody could see from the stands. But we pulled it out with

heart.�

Kapko finished with 104 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries,

following up on a career-high 160 yards in Week 1. His first-week

total made him the first Estancia back to run for 100 yards in 21

games. Now he’s done it in consecutive games.

Cahill contributed on the ground when Kapko didn’t. The senior

tailback ran for 77 yards on 14 carries and also caught four passes

for 39 yards. His ability to break tackles and gain extra yards

exemplified the new attitude at Estancia.

But if it wasn’t for big plays by Jason Johnston on defense and

special teams, the end result wouldn’t have been much different from

the last two years.

The Eagles led, 19-0, at halftime behind a dominant performance by

their defense. Century ran just 11 plays in the first half, did not

gain a first down and produced just three yards of offense.

But 6-foot-7, 270-pound Hebron Fangupo sparked the Centurions with

a pair of second-half interceptions, both on balls tipped at the line

of scrimmage. The first, returned 34 yards, led to Ramirez’s first

touchdown, an 8-yard run. Fangupo returned the second 10 yards to the

end zone for a touchdown of his own, which cut the Eagles’ lead to

19-14.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Jason Johnston, a standout in track,

hurdled one Century defender then sprinted 54 yards to the Centurions

38-yard line. That lead to a 27-yard field goal by Macias, his third

of the night, which proved to be the decisive points.

Earlier in the second half, after a bad snap on a punt attempt had

given Century the ball at the Eagles 22-yard line, Johnston

intercepted Century quarterback James Rodriguez at the goal line on

the first play after the change in possession.

Despite the second-half comeback by Century, Estancia’s defense

still held the Centurions to just 115 yards of offense, including

only 1 yard in the air. The Eagles also intercepted two passes and

recovered a fumble on a kickoff.

Now, Fertig said, Estancia must learn to put teams away in the

second half.

But at 2-0, the confidence level is only rising.

“It’s high,� Johnston said. “But we’re not as happy as we could

be. A victory’s a victory, but we’re not as happy as we could be. We

let up no first downs in the first half and we had a 19-0 lead, but

we let them back in the game.�