CdM pulls away to top Eagles

It took a stretch of 137 seconds at the end of the first half and the

beginning of the second to eliminate much of the suspense over the

outcome of the season-opening nonleague football game between

visiting Corona del Mar High and Estancia Friday night.

But by then, another uncertainty was all but gone for the Sea

Kings, who earned a 26-6 victory before 900 spectators at Orange

Coast College.

Senior Matt Loyd, who did not touch the ball on offense last

season, established himself as a productive tailback by rolling up

100 rushing yards on 16 carries by halftime.

Loyd, one of the Sea Kings’ two captains who also started at

cornerback and intercepted a pass, finished with 187 rushing yards on

23 attempts, helping the visitors pull away after a closely-played

opening half.

“I was happy with the way he ran,” Freeman said of the 5-foot-10,

175-pounder, who did everything but enter the end zone for the

winners.

Estancia, making its debut under first-year coach Brian Barnes,

showed it won’t be any pushover this fall. The Eagles, 4-6 a year

ago, battled the Sea Kings (6-5 and a CIF Southern Section Division

IX playoff team in 2004) scoreless until 1:31 remained in the opening

half.

Senior Matt Burgner capped an 11-play, 70-yard CdM touchdown drive

with a 2-yard plunge on fourth down plunge to give the Sea Kings some

breathing room at intermission.

The visitors then took the breath away from the Estancia faithful

when junior end Keaten Price sped into the backfield and drilled an

Eagle ball carrier on the first play of the second half. The ball

popped loose and junior outside linebacker Ford Noe recovered at the

Estancia 27-yard line.

After a 6-yard run by Loyd, senior quarterback Shaun Mohler, who

shared time all night with junior Colin Wigley, hot Steve Hillgren

for a 21-yard catch-and-run that doubled the lead with 11:14 left in

the third period.

CdM, which misfired on the first conversion kick, failed to

convert again when a botched hold forced a run that was stopped by

Estancia’s Matt Redding to keep the score at 12-0.

“That fumble hurt us,” Barnes said of the Eagles’ only lost fumble

among the six it committed.

CdM scored on its next two possessions to put the game away,

securing its fifth straight season-opening victory.

Mohler, who sparkled at linebacker, outran the defense on a

13-yard bootleg to make it 18-0 with 4:00 left in the third quarter.

Charlie Albright added the first of his two conversion kicks for a

19-0 cushion.

Estancia, which was stymied on the ground by a veteran CdM

defense, but found some success through the air, drove 61 yards on

nine plays with the ensuing possession to get its only touchdown.

Senior fullback Clayton Mills caught a 1-yard play-action pass for

the TD on fourth-and-goal, but CdM’s Austin Ray blocked the PAT to

keep the lead at 13 with 11:47 left in the game.

CdM’s final scoring drive covered 79 yards on six plays, with

junior tailback Tommy Folks scoring from 1-yard out with 8:35

remaining, after Loyd bolted 28 yards to the Eagles 1.

Loyd also had a 31-yard burst to open the final CdM scoring march

as the Sea Kings’ offensive line found its rhythm to help produce 248

rushing yards on the night.

Estancia senior quarterback Ryan Watson, thought pressured

consistently by CdM’s new three-stack defense, wound up with 173

passing yards. He completed 17 of 27, often having to buy himself

time by scrambling to evade pass rushers.

Estancia, however, found tough going on the ground, as the Eagles

rushed 21 times for a mere 2 yards.

Burgner, an All-CIF defensive end who came in with 24 career

varsity sacks, added two more and is now just five away from breaking

the school career record.

Erik Rask and Price combined on another of the Sea Kings’ four

sacks.

Redding had four catches for 56 yards and, while Alex LaGrand

caught three passes for 46 yards and Ezequiel Villalvazo chipped in

five catches for 19 yards.

Villalvazo left the game in the second half with what is believed

to be a concussion.

Barnes said his team showed him some fight most of the night, but

he believes they tired a little in the second half.

CdM, meanwhile, was also plagued by fatigue, Freeman said.

A handful of Sea Kings suffered leg cramps in the second half,

including Loyd.

Freeman, whose pregame plan was to limit mistakes offensively,

lamented some penalties and missed assignments on that side of the

ball.

“All in all, we had way to many offensive mistakes,” Freeman said.