Patrick LavertyCraig Fertig has sat in NFL...

Patrick Laverty

Craig Fertig has sat in NFL draft war rooms. He understands how to

determine whether a player fits into a team’s system.

He has also been a coach on the college level, both as an

assistant and as the man in charge, so he knows how to adjust a

system to fit a particular team’s talent.

In his first season as a high school football coach at Estancia

High, Fertig has used both experiences to transform the Eagles’

football program.

In essence, spring football became a true tryout period as Fertig

became familiar with the talent that the Eagles have and figured out

a way to incorporate it into a football team.

“I believe in putting kids in a position where they can be

successful,” Fertig said. “I think that’s part of being a good

football coach.”

The former USC quarterback settled on an I-formation offense, a

system that will allow the Eagles to take advantage of a trio of

tailbacks who are expected to share carries. Defensively, the Eagles

will line up in a four-three defense, utilizing their size up front.

It didn’t matter where players had played in the past, or even if

they had played at all, Fertig simply attempted to put players in a

spot where they could succeed.

Here is a look, position-by- position:

Quarterback: Brad Young, a senior, returns under center, though he

will be running a different system this season.

Called a drop-back quarterback by Fertig, who should know his

quarterbacks, Young played primarily in a split-back veer offense, a

more option-oriented system compared to Fertig’s pro-style,

I-formation.

Last season Young completed 86 of 173 passes for 910 yards. He

threw six interceptions and four touchdowns. He was often forced to

throw after Estancia fell behind early.

Over the spring and summer, Fertig has been impressed with Young’s

improvement.

“He really wants to be good,” Fertig said.

There won’t be much experience behind Young at quarterback, with

sophomore Nick Engelke serving as a backup.

Running backs: Four players are expected to share time in the

backfield, with three tailbacks lining up behind senior fullback

Bubba Kapko.

Nicknamed Bubba by his brothers, Kapko rushed for 375 yards on 88

carries, a 4.3 average, last season and scored five of the Eagles’ 11

touchdowns.

Starting behind Kapko will likely be Mike Cahill, a transfer from

Mater Dei prior to last season. As a junior, Cahill rushed for 99

yards on 23 carries.

Junior David Moreno, who received some playing time last year at

tailback, returns after transferring to Newport Harbor in the spring,

then returning to Estancia for the 2003-04 school year. He had 66

yards on 17 carries last season.

Also seeing time at running back will be sophomore Kelani Teo, who

has no football experience but provides some athleticism.

Receivers: Like quarterback and running back, Estancia has

experience here as well. Geo Macias and Ryan Sanford return to the

team and the Eagles also get a boost from a healthy Jason Johnston.

Johnston, a standout track and field athlete who qualified for CIF

Southern Section competition in three events last spring, missed his

junior season because of injuries. His athleticism will provide a

boost for Estancia on both sides of the ball.

Macias, who played some tailback last season, moves permanently to

wide receiver. He rushed 29 times for 81 yards last season and caught

five passes for 20 yards and a touchdown.

Tight end: Senior Mike Softa, a starter at middle linebacker last

season, will garner some offensive opportunities this season as a

tight end. He can expect to be on the receiving end of some of

Young’s passes in Fertig’s pro-style offense.

Sophomore Alex Becerra is also expected to receive playing time at

tight end and Fertig isn’t afraid to bypass upperclassmen to give the

Eagles their best chance to win.

“That’s another rule I had when I came here,” Fertig said. “I

said, ‘There’s no rule that I have to play seniors. I don’t care how

old you are.’ ”

Offensive line: The Eagles possess both size and experience up

front and they’ll need both to protect Young and open holes for the

running backs.

The right side of the line is expected to be anchored by a pair of

seniors, Gary Strawn (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) and Gary Jones (6-1,

280). Both players are returning starters.

Yousif Muradian, a senior, will start at center and at just more

than 200 pounds, he’ll be dwarfed by his offensive line counterparts.

He served as a backup on the offensive line last season.

The weakside guard will be senior Landon Pulizzi and he will line

up next to junior tackle Ian Morton. Pulizzi (6-2, 220) and Morton

(6-4, 270) are both returning starters, giving the Eagles four

experienced players at the line of scrimmage.

Defensive line: Like most high school football teams, Estancia

will play a majority of its athletes on both sides of the ball.

Fertig’s mission is to keep everybody fresh.

“That’s going to be my job, to be able to rest some guys here and

there without giving a lot of things up,” Fertig said. “That’s what

I’m going to be trying to do. We’ve got to move some guys around.”

It will be a lot of shuffling of the same bodies. Morton and

Pulizzi are expected to line up at opposite ends of the defensive

line, anchoring the outside. Strawn and Gary Jones will be the

defensive tackles, while Jones’ younger brother Mike, a 6-1,

300-pound junior, will back them up.

Linebackers: Softa will man the middle, providing more experience

for Estancia, which seems to be quite competent in that department. A

key might be convincing these players, who have experienced 18 losses

the last two seasons, that they have the talent and the system to

win.

Kapko and Cahill will share time at outside linebacker and senior

Cullen Crom is vying for playing time at weakside linebacker.

Secondary: This is the most inexperienced unit.

Teo, is slotted to start at cornerback, while Johnston, who missed

last season, will play one safety spot.

Macias will man the other cornerback position, keeping him on the

field for the majority of the game.

“We’re just trying to make them interchangeable,” Fertig said.

“Everyone knows what the other guys are doing in case somebody goes

down, and in football, that’s going to happen.”

Kicking game: Macias took over punting and kicking duties last

season and returns to do the same in 2003.

In installing a new offense and defense, Fertig thinks work on

special teams has been lacking early this preseason. It’s a hole

Estancia must fill quickly if it hopes to turn things around.

Fertig thinks he has begun to do that, but he also knows what lies

ahead.

“We’ve come a long way from where we’ve first started, but we’ve

still got a long ways to go,” Fertig said.