Eagles aim to top Seahawks

Estancia grid pre vs. Ocean ViewEstancia believes 1-5 record is not accurate measure of its performance to date.With a 1-5 record, 1-1 in the Golden West League, the Estancia High football team is not prepared to claim the numbers don’t lie.

But first-year coach Brian Barnes could make a case that some numbers are more persuasive than others.

Heading into Friday’s league game at Ocean View (1-4-1, 0-2), Barnes said he believes that to effectively assess the Eagles to this point, one should take into consideration the numbers produced by their opponents.

“Being 1-5 does hurt the confidence of our kids, but I think we’re better than that,” Barnes said. “If you look at what some of the teams we’ve lost to have done this year, I really don’t think we’re a 1-5 team.”

Of the five teams to have beaten Estancia this season, only Corona del Mar (3-4) has a losing record and the Sea Kings are still ranked No 10 in CIF Southern Section Division IX. The other four teams -- Huntington Park, Buena Park, Orange and Garden Grove -- are a combined 19-5.

Conversely, the four teams that have produced Ocean View’s losses this season are a combined 11-13.

“Every team we’re playing is pretty good,” Barnes said. “If we played a few more teams that were closer to our level, I think we’d have a lot more confidence.”

Barnes believes Ocean View is such a team. The Seahawks, however, have been a much more confident team since the arrival of transfer Brandon Price from hurricane-ravaged Mississippi.

Price, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound junior quarterback, directed the team’s first win of the season -- 31-24 over Magnolia -- in his first start. Price also helped the Seahawks stay close in a 21-14 loss to Saddleback last Friday.

“He makes them a million times better,” Barnes said of Price. “He is big, strong and fast.”

Still, Barnes believes the Eagles will not need an extra-special effort to come out on top Friday.

“We just need to play our football,” Barnes said.

Estancia has produced some big plays in the passing game. Senior quarterback Ryan Watson has thrown for 898 yards and six touchdowns, completing 64 of 136 passes with just three interceptions.

Watson’s big-play target has been junior wideout Matt Redding, who is averaging 20 yards on his 20 receptions. Redding caught touchdown passes of 74 and 60 yards in a 40-19 nonleague loss to Garden Grove on Oct. 13.

Estancia, however, has struggled to generate any running game. The Eagles have gained just 98 yards on 137 rushing attempts.20051020ioc2etknDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Estancia’s Clayton Mills runs past a pack of defenders. 20051020imtw6nnc(LA)