Prep football: No mercy expected

Barry Faulkner

ALISO VIEJO - Any other week, Estancia High football coach Jay

Noonan might pick up the phone to commiserate with Aliso Niguel Coach Joe

Wood. It was Wood, after all, like Noonan a former Capistrano Valley

assistant, who guided an Aliso team last year very similar to the one

Noonan is piloting this fall.

But, with the Eagles (0-1) scheduled to visit Aliso Niguel (1-0)

Friday for a nonleague contest, any exchange of fraternal coaching wisdom

will have to wait.

Last season, it was Aliso which struggled with a roster that included

very few seniors and very little varsity experience.

This fall, it’s the Eagles who are short on both familiar faces and

experience, though they do plan to start nine seniors Friday.

Aliso, 3-7 a year ago, when it missed the CIF playoffs for the first

time since its inaugural varsity campaign in 1994, appears to have turned

the corner. The Wolverines handled Capo Valley, 34-13, last week.

Estancia, on the other hand, opened what is expected to be a bumpy

10-game road with a 35-12 loss to Magnolia.

What’s more, the Wolverines are likely anxious to avenge last year’s

17-13 loss to Estancia, a dramatic contest decided on an Estancia

touchdown with 1:43 left.

Noonan whose Capo Valley teams split two meetings with Wood’s

Wolverines the last two seasons, expects a bigger challenge than the one

Magnolia presented.

“(Aliso) did a very good job using its strengths to beat a very sound,

big and physical Capo Valley team last week,” Noonan said. “(The

Wolverines) are very quick and they use a spread formation, but that’s

not to say they are a finesse team. They’re defense is sound and they hit

and tackle well. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Aliso’s offense is keyed by quarterback Bryce Latimer, as well as

running back and fellow senior Trent Carroll. Latimer completed 9 of 15

passes for 123 yards and a touchdown against Capo Valley. Carroll, who

gained 79 yards on 14 carries against the Eagles last year, had 117

rushing yards and scored three TDs in the opener.

Prominent Wolverines also include first-team All-Sea View League

kicker Stephen Berneking, as well as second-team all-league linebacker

Adam Omernick (5-foot-10, 205 pounds) and second-team all-league

offensive lineman Chris Bowser (6-6, 265). They are all seniors.

“It’s a team on the rise and it is hot right now,” Noonan said of the

Eagles’ former PCL rival.

Estancia, hampered last week by the absence of seniors Nate Harriman

and Jermaine Snell -- their transfers were OKd by section officials this

week -- will benefit from the addition of the two receivers, who also

start defensively. Harriman will open at outside linebacker, Snell at

cornerback.

The Eagles will also feature senior running back Junior Tanielu, who

gained 57 yards on nine rushing attempts against Magnolia and also caught

a pass for 28 yards on a fake punt.

Junior quarterback Lewis Bradshaw completed six passes for 46 yards in

his first varsity start, while senior receiver Mitch Valdes caught two

passes for 23 yards and returned a kickoff 89 yards for an Estancia TD.

Estancia will be without senior offensive tackle-defensive end

Fernando Montes, who dislocated his shoulder against Magnolia. Sophomore

Tim Bates is scheduled to start for Montes on defense, while senior Eric

Sahagian gets the call at tackle.

Estancia’s win last season ended a four-game losing streak against

Aliso, which leads the series, 4-2.

The Eagles are attempting to avoid what would be only the sixth 0-2

start in the program’s 36 varsity seasons. Estancia has won at least one

of its first two games 13 of the last 14 years.