Prep football: Battle for the Bell

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - The annual crosstown high school football showdown

between Costa Mesa and Estancia has become commonly known as the Battle

for the Bell.

However, combatants in this year’s edition, a Pacific Coast League

clash that kicks off Friday at 7 p.m. at Orange Coast College, have taken

to simply calling it Week 8, as if any other description is just window

dressing.

“We’re competing for the Bell (perpetual trophy), the city

championship and bragging rights for the rest of our lives,” first-year

Estancia coach Jay Noonan said.

“Our kids are pretty excited about it,” said first-year Costa Mesa

coach Dave Perkins, who, like six of his players, spent the last three

years on the other side of the rivalry in Estancia red and gold. “A few

kids are particularly excited.”

Mustang seniors Bobby Arroyo, Freddy Rodriguez, Jesse Cardenas and

A.J. Perkins, as well as junior twin brothers Brian and Alan Rayner, all

know what victory on the varsity level feels like in this game, having

experienced it the last two falls at Estancia.

Dave Perkins said he brought pictures of the Bell trophy out to

practice this week to provide a refresher to his other players, including

seniors who watched from the stands as freshmen the last time Mesa rang

the bell at midfield and partook in the postgame celebratory feast at

Newport Rib Company after a 52-0 conquest in 1999.

The transfers, which included the late Matt Colby, have stirred the

pregame pot this fall, though the communal grieving process both teams

shared when Colby died a day after taking himself out of a Sept. 28

nonleague game and collapsing on the sideline, has given both rosters

some perspective on the rivalry.

“This thing could become ‘Peyton Place’ with all the subplots and

personal battles,” Dave Perkins said. “I know there will be some phone

calls this week, with kids giving each other a hard time.

“But I don’t look at it as any kind of revenge thing. I’m not going

after anybody over there. I don’t have any of those thoughts or notions.”

Noonan, meanwhile, was quite comfortable capsulizing the resentment

some in the Estancia camp feel toward their former teammates-turned

rivals.

“The kids that transferred made those decisions themselves,” Noonan

said. “They decided to become Mustangs and they have to live with that

the rest of their lives. They decided to abandon their friends and, to

me, they took the easy way out. I’d compare their experience to going to

a used car lot, where the salesman sells you a bill of goods and the car

you thought was a Rolls Royce, turns out to be a lemon.”

And while Mesa (5-2, 1-1 in league) comes in with a record of high

performance, compared to the Eagles (0-6, 0-2), Noonan believes the

heavily favored Mustangs are ripe for the taking.

“We have one common opponent, Northwood, and I have no doubt we played

a tougher nonleague schedule,” Noonan said. “Mesa lost, 31-6, to

Northwood and we lost, 49-6. But I thought our offense was a little

better against Northwood than theirs was.

“(Friday’s outcome) is going to come down to mistakes. If we don’t

shoot ourselves in the foot, we beat Mesa.”

Such an outcome would rank among the ultimate upsets in the series, in

which Estancia holds a 20-13-1 edge.

Last year’s game was an all-time classic, as Estancia rallied from a

20-0 deficit late in the second quarter to claim a 34-27 triumph.

Noonan said his plan of attack will be built around defensive

pressure.

“We’ll do what we normally do on offense,” Noonan said. “And,

defensively, we’re going to blitz them up and down the field and try to

make (their passing game) beat us.”

This aggressive approach won’t catch the Mustangs off guard.

“They’re going to bring everybody and come after us,” Dave Perkins

said. “They brought the house every play against Corona del Mar and, for

a while, it disrupted (the Sea Kings). We’ll have to be ready to block

seven, eight or nine guys, but Laguna Beach had nine or 10 guys in the

box and we were still able to take care of business. Hopefully, we’ll be

able to do that again Friday night.”

Costa Mesa appears to hold the majority of the weapons, including an

offense that comes in averaging nearly 34 points per game.

Junior fullback Keola Asuega has rushed for 692 yards and 11

touchdowns, while senior wingback Nick Cabico has 526 rushing yards and

has scored seven TDs, including two on five receptions for 86 yards.

Sophomore Omar Ruiz (180 yards and four TDs) and Rodriguez (234 yards

and four TDs) are additional rushing threats, behind an offensive line

that averages 251 pounds from tackle to tackle.

A.J. Perkins has thrown for 474 yards and seven TDs, completing 43 of

100 with only two interceptions.

Defensively, the Mustangs feature Arroyo, a first-team All-PCL

linebacker who leads the team in tackles. Senior tackle Doug Amburgey, as

well as Cabico at free safety, have also been stellar for tonight’s

hosts, who have a plus-14 turnover ratio.

Estancia, which has been outscored this season, 203-71, will counter

offensively with a veer option triggered by junior Lewis Bradshaw.

Bradshaw has scored the Eagles only two TDs in league, both on the

ground. He has thrown for 552 yards and two TDs this season, completing

46 of 96 with two interceptions.

Senior Junior Tanielu is the Eagles’ leading rusher with 308 yards and

three TDs on 59 carries.

An eye-popping 28 fumbles, 12 of which have been lost, have helped

stagnate offensive production, though the Eagles have a manageable

minus-one turnover ratio. Still, the Eagles’ 607 team rushing yards this

fall have been surpassed by 36 Orange County running backs, including

Asuega.

Speedy receivers Nate Harriman and Jermaine Snell, who transferred

from Texas and Fountain Valley, respectively, will attempt to make a big

impact in their first Battle for the Bell.

Harriman has 15 catches for 305 yards and one TD.

Senior inside linebacker Joey Mueller has stood out for the Eagles on

defense, where Bradshaw shifts from outside linebacker to free safety

this week.