Estancia aims to rebound

The effect of last week’s loss to Laguna Beach High did not last long on the Estancia football team.

With a win, the Eagles would have been facing Calvary Chapel tonight at 7:30 at Orange Coast College to hold onto the Orange Coast League lead and subsequent title. Instead Estancia is playing for its playoff life.

“Monday our kids were still a hair bummed,” Estancia Coach Brian Barnes said. “It’s tough to refocus after a loss, but they are focused and fired up.”

After the Breakers’ 22-7 victory over Costa Mesa Thursday, the Eagles (6-3, 1-1 in league) need a victory over Calvary Chapel (2-7, 0-2) to secure a guaranteed playoff spot.

A loss would create a three-way tie for second place in the league, with a coin flip deciding the second guaranteed berth. Barnes has been in the situation before.

“When I was a senior at Los Alamitos, we finished in a three-way tie,” Barnes said. “We got the short end of the stick in that coin flip and we ended up playing Long Beach Poly in the first round. We lost and I think Poly went on to win the section title.”

The Eagles will not be so lucky. A three-way tie and a loss of the coin flip likely means Estancia will be in need of one of the two at-large berth the Southern Division provides.

“Were still planning on playing some more weeks,” Barnes said. “In the past, Friday would mean that we were going to turn in our gear on Monday.”

Senior receiver Matt Redding helped Estancia refocus immediately after the loss to Laguna Beach. When the team arrived back at the high school, Redding stood up and told his teammates that he would do everything in his power to keep the team winning.

“He has been a great leader for us this year,” Barnes said. “He has been more vocal the past few weeks. Last year he wouldn’t have said a word. His play on the field was his way of being vocal.”

Against Laguna Beach, Redding let his play do the talking, catching five passes for 193 yards.

The Eagles also had a good day on the ground, amassing 151 total yards with 122 yards on 35 attempts coming from senior Rafael Alejandre.

Barnes said he isn’t sure if the team will run that much against Calvary Chapel.

“If we run the ball once or 30 times [Alejandre] is going to try and best to help us win,” Barnes said. “He’s definitely one of my favorite kids. We’re going to do a bit of everything. We’ve been pretty much even with running and passing the whole year. Last year we couldn’t run if our life depended on it. To win a championship you have to run.”

The Eagles were dealt their first serious injury when starting defensive tackle Junior Contreras suffered a season-ending knee injury. Junior Eddie Tomasek will replace Contreras.

“I think it has a lot to do with our offseason workout program,” Barnes said of avoiding injury. “Last year, they were carrying guys off on stretchers every week. Junior’s knee was kind of a freak deal.”

Barnes said Calvary Chapel senior quarterback Vinnie Valdez is similar to Laguna Beach quarterback Charley Bowman who threw for 105 yards and a touchdown on seven for 10 passing against Estancia.

“He hurt his knee last week so I don’t know if he’s playing,” Barnes said. “Our defense needs to stop him He’s like Calvary Chapel’s version of Charley Bowman.”