CIF Playoff Picture

After spending 16 years as an assistant at Newport Harbor High, learning the traditions of coach Jeff Brinkley, Mike Bargas is cultivating similar ones at Estancia.

The first-year head coach took his assistants to the Irvine IHOP before heading to University High Sunday morning to find out who the Eagles would be facing in the first round of the Southern Division playoffs.

Estancia (5-5), the No. 1 seed out of the Orange Coast League, will host Irvine (7-2) Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles will be trying to break out of a 27-year first-round slump. Estancia hasn’t had a post-season win since 1980 when they defeated Neff 34-21.

“We hope to be practicing Thanksgiving weekend, Thanksgiving week,” Bargas said. “I’d like these guys to experience this because they’ve never been past the first round. We want to be practicing when the Christmas lights are up. That’s one of the big [Newport Harbor] traditions, to be practicing on Thanksgiving.”

Sharing a league championship isn’t enough for Bargas or the Eagles, who lost the chance to stand alone as league champions when the team folded, 17-13, to Laguna Beach.

But playing at Newport Harbor Friday doesn’t present too much advantage when it comes to facing Irvine, Bargas said.

“It’s always an away game for us,” Bargas said. “It’s not any better for us to be at Newport Harbor than anywhere else. Irvine’s played there plenty of time when I was at Newport, so it’s not a foreign land to those guys. I don’t think it’s an advantage to either team. I think it’s great for us that the fans don’t have to go quite as far, so hopefully we get a good draw.”

Bargas and his assistants immediately went into to preparation mode, driving back to Estancia to break down film of Irvine in preparation for the upcoming game.

Irvine finished in third place in the Pacific Coast League, and is coming off a 28-14 loss to Laguna Hills.

Bargas coached against Irvine skipper Terry Henigan while he was at Newport Harbor. The last time Bargas was standing on the opposite side of the field from Henigan, Sept. 15, 2006, Newport Harbor won, 27-0.

“Henigan, he knows his stuff,” Bargas said. “He’s been doing it for a long time. They do everything well. They’re going to try to out-formation you.

“I think we’ve got a legitimate chance. Our kids play hard.”

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