High hopes for Estancia

“I’ve always believed football is a game that should be fun, but it’s

more fun when you win.”

And with that, new Estancia High School football coach Craig

Fertig raised the bar higher than players over the last two seasons

have been used to. If they win more than one game this fall, they’ll

top the win total over those two years -- one.

The former USC assistant and Oregon State head coach automatically

brings something to the team: hope -- a hope for a winning season

that was far out of reach in seasons past.

There’s no doubt that Estancia players will look forward to

playing under Fertig more than they did under former coach Jay

Noonan. Fertig has the big league experience -- he scouted for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers and coached in the now-defunct World Football

League -- that the players need if they have any chance of moving on

to college ball.

Perhaps Estancia will top rival Costa Mesa High to win the Battle

of the Bell this year. It hasn’t happened since 2000, but it’s

definitely not out of the question this time around.