Softening the blow

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - While Estancia High football coach Dave Perkins has

plenty of empathy for Anaheim, which takes a 24-game losing streak into

Friday’s 7 p.m. nonleague game at Orange Coast College, apathy is

something he hopes his players leave on the sideline.

“These are the games you hate,” said Perkins, whose 17-year head coaching

career has put him at both ends of the mismatch spectrum.

“I’ve been in the middle of a 29-game losing streak (he inherited a

17-game skein at La Sierra, went 0-10 his first season, then had to

forfeit two victories earned on the field to start his second campaign),

so I know what that’s like. And (Estancia was) 1-9 last season, when

Laguna Hills scored 62 points on us our last game.”

Perkins has vowed never to embarrass a downtrodden opponent and his

Eagles (3-0 and ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division IX) just

may force him to take measures to ensure the Colonists escape with their

collective psyche intact.

Perkins, however, is on the lookout for Estancia complacency, which

reared its ugly head before last week’s come-from-behind 21-18 triumph

over Garden Grove.

“We weren’t practicing well (Sept. 22), so I sent the kids home and we

lost a day of practice,” Perkins said. “The kids came back focused the

next day, and I expect the same (in preparation for Anaheim).

“We have to continue to work hard and get better. And we certainly don’t

want to be Anaheim’s first victim.”

Coach Allen Carter’s Colonists were the Eagles’ lone victim last season,

thanks to a 20-14 decision that overturned a pair of Anaheim leads.

The Eagles had not trailed this season, until Garden Grove gained an

18-14 advantage in the third quarter last week. The deficit lasted just

155 seconds, however, and Estancia moved closer to attaining its

preleague goal.

“We talked a lot in the off-season about having success in the preseason,

because we thought it was important,” Perkins said.

That success has a great deal to do with senior Marshall Hendricks, who

has sparkled on both sides of the ball. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound tailback

has rushed for 487 yards and five touchdowns on 51 carries en route to

658 all-purpose yards. He also shares the Orange County lead with four

interceptions, including a 75-yard touchdown return against Magnolia.

The Eagles’ wing T offense also relies on the fullback duo of junior

Fahad Jahid and senior Matt Mueller. The tandem has combined for 333

yards and four touchdowns, operating behind a veteran line led by senior

Kyle Westman, who shifts from tackle to guard this week.

Linemen Cesar Romero, Josh Veach, Robert Aguilera and Tim Valdez, as well

as tight end Griffin Crogan and wingback Sean Freeman, have also earned

praise from Perkins for their blocking.

Defensively, the Eagles have surrendered just 25 points, bettered by only

five county teams. They also have eight interceptions to fuel their

plus-10 turnover ratio (11-1).

Mueller, Jahid, Romero, Freeman and Andy Romo comprise a linebacking

corps complemented by Veach, Westman and David Rodriguez up front.

Senior John Alderete and sophomore Freddy Rodriguez join Hendricks in the

secondary, which frequently helps comprise an eight-man zone coverage.

Anaheim, with just three offensive touchdowns this fall, will attack the

Estancia defense with a unit triggered by junior quarterback Ryan

Patterson. Patterson has 24 completions for 266 yards and three TDs in 53

attempts and has thrown four interceptions.

His favorite target has been 5-9 senior Juan Jimenez (12 catches for 134

yards).

Senior David Lopez is the leading ballcarrier, having gained 156 yards on

50 attempts.