Eagles look to double up

Patrick Laverty

Don’t expect Estancia High football coach Craig Fertig to change his

philosophy going into the Eagles’ Week 2 contest against Century at

Orange Coast College at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“We’re going to come out and establish the run again,” Fertig

said.

The Eagles (1-0) piled up 218 yards on the ground in their victory

against Magnolia. Now they face a Century team that pounded Bolsa

Grande, 51-14.

As impressive as that victory might sound, it came at the expense

of a school that hasn’t won a game since 1999.

Century finished 3-7 last season and was winless in the Orange

League, which includes Magnolia. But the Centurions defeated the

Eagles, 35-7, last season, the first of nine consecutive Estancia

defeats before last week’s win.

That win marked Fertig’s first game on the sideline for Estancia,

or at any high school for that matter, and that has mattered a lot to

the Eagles.

The week leading up to the game against Magnolia was the most

intense week of practice Estancia has had in three years, senior

fullback Bubba Kapko said. It paid off as Kapko led the Eagles with

160 yards rushing.

But now comes the real test: exceeding last year’s win total.

In spite of the competition, Century proved last week that it may

provide a much stronger challenge than Magnolia.

“They have good overall team speed,” Fertig said after watching

tape of the Centurions’ victory. “They’re a lot faster than

Magnolia.”

Century is guided by first-year head man Kevin Pola, a former star

at Santa Ana High.

One of Fertig’s biggest worries is Century tight end Hebron

Fangupo, who is 6-foot-3, 270 pounds and also plays defensive tackle.

“We can’t let him off the line of scrimmage,” Fertig said.

Century quarterback James Rodriguez completed 10 of 17 passes for

169 yards last week.

Estancia quarterback Brad Young was 10 of 20 for 121 yards and a

touchdown, but threw two interceptions.

“I think his play as a quarterback and as a leader, when we had to

have it, he came through,” Fertig said. “As a quarterback,

interceptions are going to happen. I told him, ‘I don’t care about

your stats. The question is, did we win?’ ”

The Eagles did just that. Now they’ll try to win more than once,

for the first time in three seasons.