Peñaloza: Playing and coaching in the Estancia-Costa Mesa hoops rivalry

There used to be a time when the Estancia High boys’ basketball team dominated archrival Costa Mesa.

Xavier Castellano, the Eagles current coach, knows all about the 30-game winning streak against the Mustangs from 1981-82 to 1998-99, as do his top two assistants, Sam Nelson and Brandon Casillas. They played for Estancia in the late 1990s and their teams always beat the Mustangs.

Now as coaches, the three are trying figure out how to knock off the Mustangs.

Costa Mesa won the first Battle for the Bell meeting on Friday, 61-46, earning its second straight win against Estancia. Both of those wins have come at Costa Mesa.

What is great about this basketball rivalry is how many of the current coaches played at their respective schools. Phil Weber, the head coach, and his top two assistants, Brian Molina and Tony Krikorian, suited up at Costa Mesa in the mid-2000s.

The latest matchup was special for Weber, a 2007 graduate. He led his alma mater against Estancia for the first time on varsity.

“That was exciting,” Weber said after the Mustangs improved to 9-10 overall and 2-1 in the Orange Coast League, matching last season’s overall and league win totals. “It’s never an easy game. Our guys just came out ready to play.”

Weber is undefeated against the Eagles, going 3-0 as a player during the 2006-07 season, his only one on varsity, and now he’s 1-0 as a varsity coach.

Costa Mesa is 18-17 against Estancia in the last 35 matchups. Gone are the days the rivalry was one-sided.

Costa Mesa and Estancia (10-10, 1-2 in league) square off one last time in the regular season on Feb. 5, this one at Estancia. The Mustangs will try to sweep the series for the first time since 2012-13 and claim the Battle for the Bell for the fourth time in five seasons.

—

•If you aren’t doing anything on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I suggest you check out the Coach Mike’s Long Shot Challenge at Costa Mesa and Estancia on Monday.

The one-day boys’ basketball showcase features 26 teams, seven games at Costa Mesa and six at Estancia. Mike Molina, a former Costa Mesa player and coach, put together the event to honor his late friend, Jeff Long, who passed away from testicular cancer four years ago at the age of 22.

Molina also battled the same disease, and he said Long, a 2008 Costa Mesa graduate, was always there for him. Molina turned 25 on Saturday.

Molina said the proceeds from ticket sales and raffle items would benefit the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation in Irvine.

The four schools in the Newport-Unified School District are involved. Corona del Mar faces San Bernardino at Costa Mesa at 6 p.m., followed up by Newport Harbor playing Costa Mesa at 7:30 p.m., while Estancia plays host to San Bernardino Indian Springs at 6:30 p.m.

Along with CdM and Newport Harbor, ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3A and No. 10 in the Division 2AA polls, respectively, there are seven other ranked schools in the section competing in the event. At Estancia, Capistrano Valley Christian, No. 2 in Division 5A, plays City of Industry Workman at 11 a.m., Goleta Dos Pueblos, No. 9 in Division 2A, squares off with Capistrano Valley, No. 7 in Division 2AA, at 12:30 p.m., Laguna Beach, No. 10 in Division 4AA, meets Whittier California at 2 p.m., and Edison, No. 2 in Division 2AA, has Wildomar Elsinore at 5 p.m.

At Costa Mesa, Los Angeles Ribet Academy, No. 15 in Division 5A, plays Westminster at 1:30 p.m., while Westlake, No. 16 in Division 1A, goes against Oceanside El Camino at 4:30 p.m.

—

•The Costa Mesa boys’ soccer team needed the first three matches in Orange Coast League play this month to equal its league win total from the previous two seasons.

The Mustangs have won each of their three league contests. Their latest was a 4-1 upset of rival Estancia at Jim Scott Stadium on Friday.

Costa Mesa defeated Estancia (8-3-3, 1-1-1 in league), ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 poll, for the first time since 2012-13. The Mustangs get a shot at another Division 4 ranked team, No. 2 Godinez (8-1-4, 2-0-1), at Jim Scott Stadium on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

The three-time defending league champion Grizzlies, ranked No. 13 in the state by TopDrawerSoccer.com, haven’t lost in league in their last 30 tries, going 23-0-7 during the stretch. Five of those wins have come against the Mustangs in which Godinez has outscored them, 21-1.

Costa Mesa has beaten Godinez only once since the Grizzlies joined the Orange Coast League in 2008-09. The Mustangs’ win came on Jan. 11, 2010.

—

•Three boys’ basketball games into Pacific Coast League action and CdM finds itself two games back of first place.

Two-time defending league champion CdM lost for the second time in a row, this one at University, 89-85, in double overtime on Friday.

The Sea Kings (13-6, 1-2 in league) share third place in league with University and Woodbridge. Northwood and Beckman are atop the league at 3-0.

In one week, CdM has lost as many games in league as it had the past two seasons.

—

•If you want to find all four of the local wrestling programs in one place, you can next week. The Newport-Mesa District wrestling championships are at Costa Mesa on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.

Costa Mesa Coach Adam Marquez said his team, Estancia, Newport Harbor and CdM are competing in a four-way dual.