Prep football: Judgement call

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - The Estancia High varsity football team elected not to

play Aliso Niguel Saturday, but the Eagles and Wolverines did square off

on the junior varsity level Thursday.

First-year Estancia Coach Jay Noonan said Sunday that the results of

that contest, a 28-0 Aliso victory, contributed to his decision to cancel

Saturday’s varsity game.

Noonan said the unavailability of more than a dozen players due to

work and family commitments, as well as the loss of four additional

players out with injuries, would have rendered his team a virtual

duplicate of the JV squad that faced Aliso Niguel’s future varsity

stalwarts.

“They already played our JV team and won,” Noonan said. “Why again?”

Noonan, who said his decision not to play came down to a matter of

priorities, has been surprised by the amount of scrutiny that decision

has generated.

“I hope (the media) pays as much attention to us when we play,” he

said. “With all the kids out, and the fact that I have a 40-man roster,

it wasn’t possible for us to play Saturday. We were ready to play

Friday.”

The aforementioned injury list was lengthened in Thursday’s junior

varsity game, when projected varsity starters Cullen Crom and Nic

Koreerat, both sophomore linebackers, were hurt.

Noonan said Crom sustained a dislocated shoulder that will likely

sideline him for two more weeks, while Koreerat needed six stitches to

close a cut lip.

Noonan said Crom, two-way starting lineman Fernando Montes (dislocated

shoulder), as well as reserves Luis Valdes (stress fracture in his foot)

and Freddie Savcedo (arm), would not have been able to play. Noonan said

Koreerat might have played in an emergency.

Noonan said he understood Aliso Niguel’s displeasure with the

decision, but he had to do what was best for his team.

“I realize Aliso wasn’t happy and I wasn’t happy to tell them we

weren’t playing,” Noonan said. “But that is just the way it is. I’d like

to say something to make it all warm and fuzzy, but the bottom line is,

the game did not happen because it couldn’t happen. It just didn’t work

out. Really, that’s all it is.”

Aliso Niguel Athletic Director Mike Middlebrook initially termed

Estancia’s decision not to play a forfeit, but CIF Southern Section

officials ruled no team would be penalized for electing not to play last

week, in the aftermath of the East Coast terrorist attacks.

Though Noonan recognizes a valuable opportunity for his inexperienced

team to gain some experience was lost, he believes not playing will help

his team’s injuries heal.

“Come (today), no one will be thinking about (the Aliso Niguel game),”

Noonan said. “We can’t afford to. We have to get ready for Canyon.”

The Eagles (0-1) are scheduled to collide with Canyon (1-0-1), which

routed La Sierra Saturday, 60-33, Friday at 7 p.m. at El Modena High.