Estancia fighting on

Rick Devereux

The Estancia High football team does not hold its destiny in its

hands. Even if the Eagles beat Santa Ana tonight at the Santa Ana

Bowl and Costa Mesa on Nov. 12, there is no guarantee Estancia will

be the third-place team in the league and earn an automatic berth

into the CIF Southern Section Division VII playoffs.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Coach Craig Fertig said. “Our

goal is to get to the playoffs.”

Estancia (3-5, 1-3 in league) must first focus on the Saints (3-5,

1-3), who are in the same must-win scenario as the Eagles to stay

alive in the playoff hunt. Santa Ana defeated Saddleback, 35-28, in

double overtime for its lone league win. Last week, Estancia lost to

Saddleback, 14-13. Tonight’s kickoff is 7 p.m.

“I’m concerned because their head coach [Jesse Gomez] is [USC]

grad,” Fertig said.

Fertig threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Rod Sherman with

1:33 remaining to cap the Trojans’ 20-17, come-from-behind victory

over Notre Dame in 1964.

“I carried Gomez off the field against Penn State one year,”

Fertig said. Gomez, a Santa Ana graduate, was a center and long

snapper for USC in the mid-1990s.

As a product of Tailback-U, Gomez implements a run-first offense.

Santa Ana uses single and two running back formations. The primary

rushing threat is Junior Takapu, who has more than 400 rushing yards.

Quarterback Alex Gober, who has completed close to 50% of his passes,

is also a running threat, averaging close to 4 yards per rushing

attempt.

“They can throw the ball fairly well, but I know they will try to

run the ball because of [Gomez’s] ‘SC background,” Fertig said.

Defensively the Saints will use four down linemen and three

linebackers. Estancia also runs a 4-3 on defense, which might help

the Eagles in preparing for Santa Ana.

“We see that defense every day in practice,” Fertig said. “[Santa

Ana] will bring some guys [on blitzes]. You don’t know who is coming

or from where, so we have got to do our homework [before the game].”

Golden West League opponents have averaged 35 points against the

Saints defense. Nonleague foes have averaged 11 points per contest.

“I know one thing: Gomez will have his team ready to hit,” Fertig

said. “I think it’s going to be an old-fashioned street fight.”