Bravehearts

Barry Faulkner

The dictionary defines sentinel as a guard or sentry, but, thanks

to an impressive season-opening effort by the Estancia High football

team’s defensive line, the Magnolia Sentinels had a difficult time

protecting their quarterbacks Friday night.

The Eagles defensive front four, including starting ends Jermaine

Young and Bryce McKendry, both playing in their first varsity game,

helped limit three Magnolia passers to 22 aerial yards and just five

completions in 17 pass attempts in Estancia’s 19-8 nonleague victory.

The pressure put on by Young, McKendry, as well as tackles Gary

Jones and Tim Bates, backup end Roger Bolanos, backup tackle Landon

Pullizzi and some blitzing linebackers, also created three sacks for

a combined 34 yards of losses.

McKendry, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound sophomore, forced a fumble while

recording his sack, which was recovered by Estancia inside linebacker

Cullen Crom at the Magnolia 8-yard line. The turnover was cashed in

for a touchdown the next play, when fullback Bubba Kapko powered into

the end zone to create a 19-0 lead with 2:07 left in the third

quarter.

McKendry also recovered a fumble, created when outside linebacker

Mike Softa sacked the Magnolia quarterback.

Bolanos, a 6-1, 195-pound senior, had the remaining sack for the

Eagles, whom Coach Jay Noonan also credited with containing dangerous

Magnolia senior tailback Tim Beaty.

Beaty compiled 188 yards on 24 rushing attempts and scored the

Sentinels’ lone touchdown with 4:11 left in the game. But, after a

44-yard burst on his first carry and a 22-yard pickup on his fourth

attempt, the Eagles held Beaty to 7 yards or less on 15 of his next

17 attempts, with the other two going for 19 and 14.

“After that first series, when Beaty got some big yardage on us, I

thought we settled down pretty well,” Noonan said.

With Young, a 6-4, 225-pound senior, McKendry and Bolanos

protecting the perimeter, the sturdy inside duo of Jones, 6-0,

260-pound junior, and Bates, a 6-5, 255-pound senior, selflessly

occupied blockers to allow the Eagle linebackers to do their job:

make tackles.

“Gary Jones and Tim Bates were taking double teams all night and

Brandon Pulizzi did a good job backing them up,” Noonan said.

“All our defensive ends did a really good job putting pressure on

their quarterback. In addition to the sacks, they consistently

hurried their passers.”

Including Beaty’s yardage, Magnolia totaled just 160 rushing yards

as a team, the fewest allowed by an Estancia defense in 15 games. The

160 rushing yards is also nearly 121 yards fewer than Estancia

opponents averaged last season.

The defensive line’s performance also helped the Eagles end a

10-game losing streak and give Noonan his first win at the Estancia

helm.