Eagles go deep to win

ACTON — Senior linebacker Eddie Tomasek hadn’t lined up behind a center to take a snap since he was a freshman at Estancia High.

Even then, it was just for one game and he only played for one half. So really, no one was going to fault the guy if he looked more like Jake Plummer than Peyton Manning in his varsity quarterback debut Friday night at Vasquez. Coach Mike Bargas even took a couple of pass plays out of the playbook.

But Tomasek erased whatever trepidation there might have been about his role at quarterback as the Eagles (3-4) won their last nonleague game of the season, 37-20.

Granted, it was against an 0-7 team that is fighting a losing war of attrition with injuries each week, but Tomasek looked like he’d been taking notes from whatever advice injured veteran Mike Morley had to offer. Tomasek ended the game seven of eight for 163 passing yards and two touchdowns, and with those numbers, Tomasek even surprised himself.

“It was a lot of fun,” Tomasek said. “I did a lot better than I expected. I didn’t think I was going to throw two touchdown [passes]. The line did a good job. The receivers did a good job getting open.”

Morley was on the Estancia sideline, in street clothes and not playing because of an injury for the first time in his career. It was an odd feeling for the senior, who broke his right (throwing) elbow while making a tackle last week against Ocean View.

The arm is now in a half-hard, half-soft cast that Morley won’t be able to remove for at least two months, possibly three, he said.

“It’s hard not being out there,” Morley said. “But they played great tonight, so it feels better now, after a win. I’ve never stood on the sideline because of an injury before. It’s hard being out here and not being a part of the action. There were a couple of times I wanted to run out there, after seeing my friends score. Seeing [Redding] score, seeing [Tomasek] score, I was so happy for them. I wish I could be a part of it with them.”

Tomasek started after the Eagles’ own injury troubles whittled Estancia’s quarterback options down to one of their starting linebackers.

Backup Radames Gutierrez saw very limited time on the field during the first half, because of a high ankle sprain.

Tomasek racked up 132 passing yards in the first half alone, and threw two touchdown passes — one for 56 yards and another for 60 — to Redding, to help create a 28-6 halftime lead.

Estancia started the game with a touchdown when Redding broke through for an 80-yard punt return and maintained the momentum throughout the game, despite giving up some big plays.

Carlos Mendez also had two touchdowns, despite being shut down by the Mustangs’ defense for most of the night. The junior tailback finished with 72 on 24 carries.

It was a cold environment at about 3,258 feet above sea level, but that didn’t matter much.

“This has got to give us some confidence,” Bargas said. “I’ve been telling these guys somebody’s got to step up and play and tonight they did. We were able to pounce on these guys early and we got everybody in, which is fantastic, because that may never happen again.”

After a bye week, Estancia meets Calvary Chapel Oct. 26.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.

FIRST QUARTER

Est – Redding 80 punt return (Diego kick), 9:38.

Est – Mendez 2 run (Diego kick), 2:10.

Est – Redding 60 pass from Tomasek (Diego kick), 0:00.

SECOND QUARTER

Est –Redding 56 pass from Tomasek (Diego kick), 1:14.

Vas – Hart 6 run (kick failed), 3:18.

THIRD QUARTER

Est – Diego 30 FG, 1:36.

FOURTH QUARTER

Est – Mendez 15 run (kick failed), 9:51.

Vas – Hart 3 run (pass failed), 2:01.

Vas – Jensen 41 pass from Dashaw (Jensen pass from Dashaw), 0:22.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Est – Mendez, 24-72, 2 TDs; Redding 2-17; Moreno, 2-1; Trancoso, 3-4.

Vas – Varela, 9-28; Jensen, 6-29; Hart, 2-9, 2 TDs; James, 1-1, Dashaw, 1-0, Berger, 1-minus 6.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Est – Tomasek 7-8-2, 163, 2 TDs.

Vas – Dashaw, 11-27-2, 224, 1 TD; Hart, 2-2-0, 36.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Est – Redding, 3-132, 2 TDs; Moreno, 3-24; Diego, 1-7.

Vas – Jensen, 5-118, 1 TD; Macuk, 4-47, Varela, 2-57, James, 2-38.