Conquest sounds so good

ROGER CARLSON

Well, I guess you know by now Estancia High football coach Craig

Fertig has his Eagles off on the right foot following a 24-8 conquest

of Magnolia Friday night in the season opener.

It wasn’t, however, as complete as it could have been due to a

certain lapse in preparation.

On the field, the Eagles left a little to be desired in the fourth

quarter.

But the tune of the proceedings wasn’t there from the start.

“Two of the officials were Pac-10 officials,” said Fertig in the

aftermath of a very enjoyable night. “One of them said, ‘Hey coach, I

don’t think the student body likes you!’ ”

The Eagles, emulating the USC Trojans in terms of uniforms, style

and results, were greeted by the Estancia band with UCLA’s fight

song, one which the Eagles have had since opening their doors in

1965.

It’s sort of like the Long Beach Wilson Bruins, whose colors are

cardinal and gold. It doesn’t fit.

“I’m going to get that changed,” said the happy Fertig as he left

the field at Orange Coast College.

Needless to say, the band, 14-strong, will probably be very busy

this week learning a new tune. It’s called “Conquest.”

There’s no doubt the Eagles’ attire reflects Fertig’s background,

and even some of the plays have the flavor of USC, as in the delayed

crossing pattern over the middle and fullback Bubba Kapko’s strong

rushes off the weak side, as well as the power I philosophy.

It was a great start for the Eagles, but it’ll be a while before

any jury proceedings will be called to judge whether Fertig’s parents

actually have ties to Helen Keller, the Miracle Worker.

My All-Madden honors go to Kapko offensively, and linebacker Mike

Cahill defensively.

Kapko, a workhorse on both sides of the ball, was exhausted when

given a breather with a minute left, and Cahill’s 100% quarterback sack highlighted a solid, all-around effort.

The separated shoulder injury suffered by tailback David Moreno

leaves some questions to be answered inasmuch as depth appears to be

a very big issue at Estancia.

But the coaching staff had to be happy with their team’s overall

defense. Also in consideration for Madden honors was Geo Macias,

whose efforts on both sides of the ball, as well as kicking two PATs

successfully despite bad center snaps, and an ankle-holding tackle

saving a potential Magnolia touchdown, were big moments.

The victory gave Estancia football a rare moment in recent times,

a sweep.

The freshman team was a 32-12 winner over Magnolia, and the junior

varsity prevailed, 18-12.

The Eagles will try again on Friday at the same site, against

Century. We’ll keep our ears tuned ...

*

I know there were a couple of sorts who took issue with last

Sunday’s column, my fictitious interview with “Salty” about the

merits of Newport Harbor High’s 2003 football team.

But after watching the Sailors devour the likes of Trabuco Hills

in the season opener Thursday night, I have to admit it, I liked my

column. It feels so good to be right!

Oh, there were a couple of things which their coach, Jeff

Brinkley, most likely pointed out during the postmortem of Thursday’s

victory.

A center snap went awry, there was a less-than-brilliant clip

behind the runner and in front of the Newport bench which spoiled

Matt Erickson’s dash to the end zone with an interception, and a

couple of other items gave Brinkley all the ammunition he would need

to keep everyone’s attention this week.

Trabuco Hills is a solid team. But the Mustangs were guilty of far

more transgressions (they lost the turnover ratio, 0-5), and on any

level, 0-5 in that department becomes very fatal, as in 35-8.

And then there were the blue-chip plays.

How about the goal-line stand? It doesn’t get any better than

that.

How about the arm of quarterback Kasey Peters, who had three

touchdown passes to Spencer Link and saw three or four other aerials

dropped, almost in succession? He’s a junior. So is Erickson. So is

Link. So is Trevor Theriot, although I swear, I heard his dad, Brian,

was running around on the football field! A 19-yard gain to the 1. I

don’t think Brian has any more eligibility left. Maybe I’m just

hearing things.

Everyone’s a junior, it seems, except tailback Matt Encinias, who

could pass for a water polo player in his civvies with his Clint

Eastwood impression.

Watching from the corner were such coaching standouts as water

polo coach Bill Barnett, basketball coach Larry Hirst, track and

field and cross country coach Eric Tweit, volleyball coach Dan Glenn

and baseball assistant Zach Biehl.

Are the Sailors really that much better than Trabuco?

I dunno.

This was the same Trabuco Hills team which outplayed Northwood in

the previous week’s scrimmage, and that was before the big guy

(6-foot-7, 297-pound Louis Saucedo) showed up in Trabuco’s game.

Trabuco is certainly a better team than it showed, but by the same

token, Newport Harbor proved my contention from the outset. It’s a

class program, it has that Alan Saenz mentality in terms of brute

strength and it doesn’t self-destruct (except for the aforementioned

clip, which will probably be on the video for a good deal of time to

come).

One coach who was concerned about my column of a week ago was

Brinkley, who is always over-aware of what someone else might read

into an article. That perhaps there was a certain disrespect coming

from him or his Sailors. Which is, of course, not true.

As I pointed out, it’s a hollow argument. Brinkley is in a class

by himself. His teams are always sharp, strong, classy and reflect

only the very best in sportsman- ship. And everyone knows it.

Which, of course, was why it was so easy to be so right about

something!

Only a half-dozen or so nitwits in Newport’s stands spoiled the

complete victory with their deriding mouths as Trabuco left the field

at halftime. Well, it’s hard to find total perfection.

My All-Madden honors go to Encinias offensively and Peter Hoyt

defensively. Encinias, for his very aggressive running, and Hoyt for

his Saenz-stop on a kickoff return.

So the Sailors get ready for Game 2 against Sunset League

representative Marina on Friday at Westminster High. The Tars have a

lot of clippings to digest in the meantime, but I have a hunch

Brinkley will have them ready.

Hey! See you next Sunday!