Murtha finds lesson in win

COSTA MESA — All week long the whispers were heard around town.

Robert Murtha, a freshman, might get called up to the varsity to play tailback for Estancia High. Can you believe it?

By the time Thursday came, Murtha was a marked man, playing in an emotional rivalry game against Costa Mesa. No, Murtha wasn’t called up, but the Mustangs wanted to take the kid down in the freshman game. Some call it, “The Mini Battle for the Bell,” but there’s nothing little about it to the players. That’s why Murtha was playing so hard, maybe too hard.

He fumbled not once, not twice, but three times, losing two of them to the Mustangs, as they taunted him with each carry, shouting, “Fumble!”

But in the fourth quarter, Murtha, a star-in-the-making for the unbeaten Eagles, silenced them with an electrifying 40-yard touchdown run that virtually ended the game.

“Of course there’s no excuse for those mistakes,” Murtha said. “You can’t make those in a game like this, but I redeemed myself. But I also wish I would’ve played better for my team because I’m more about my team. My head wasn’t in it, but I picked it up.”

Murtha finished with 116 yards on 16 carries and was in on a tackle for a safety. Yet, even after Estancia’s 30-14 victory, Murtha appeared disappointed. His father, Robert Sr., who played for Costa Mesa in his day, called it the worst game his son had ever played.

Maybe there was too much emotion wrapped in the week, too much drama. On the other sideline was Costa Mesa Coach Byron Williams in his first year with the Mustangs after coaching Costa Mesa Pop Warner, Murtha and a handful of his teammates included.

Thursday was a big game, a chance for the Eagles to say unbeaten on the season against their rivals in their Orange Coast League opener. For Murtha, it was huge. In addition to all the varsity hoopla, he wanted to perform well against his former Pop Warner coach and against the school his dad played for. And just to add to the story, he wanted to represent, as Murtha’s mother, Christine, graduated from Estancia.

Moving up to the varsity occupied much of Murtha’s thoughts. With starting tailback Alex Abalos sustaining a knee injury against Ocean View Oct. 9, Coach Mike Bargas thought to call up Murtha for insurance. But Bargas, since the beginning of the season, had always wanted Murtha to learn in his first season. Thursday served as a valuable lesson, plus Abalos ended up being ready for Friday’s varsity Battle for the Bell that Costa Mesa won, 27-13.

“I’ve been focusing on [moving up to varsity] a lot more than I should’ve,” Murtha said. “Instead of focusing on the game I was focusing on that. I just always have to remember to stay humble, always keep my head in the right place and don’t let anyone make me play bad.”

All the drama sure made for an exciting first half.

Estancia scored first with five minutes left in the first quarter, when Lavadous Simmons bolted 37 yards for the touchdown. The play came after a 32-yard run by Murtha.

But Costa Mesa answered with five minutes left in the second quarter. Costa Mesa’s Markiece Traylor stripped the ball away from Murtha after a 10-yard run and took it the other way for a 35-yard touchdown. Estancia held a 7-6 lead at the half.

After that, Estancia (6-0-1, 1-0 in league) took over with quarterback Anthony Davila leading the way. Davila, who was also coached by Williams in Pop Warner, made his former coach pay for focusing on the Eagles’ running attack. Davila hit Ben Beck for a 24-yard touchdown and then blew the game open with a 68-yard touchdown to Henry Vazquez. Davila delivered a gorgeous deep ball on the pass to Vazquez.

“Anthony, without a question, came through when we needed him,” Estancia Coach Leonard Kirshner said. “He played a much better game today.”

Costa Mesa’s Noah JeyaRajah stopped an Estancia drive when he recovered a fumble early in the fourth quarter, but the Estancia defense responded with a safety when Murtha and Jacob Stone tackled a Costa Mesa ball carrier in his own end zone.

Jacri Wright and Tyler Rios also stood out defensively, recording an interception each for the Eagles, who also had strong play from lineman Kevin Peters.

Traylor had two fumble recoveries on defense for Mesa (2-5, 0-1).

Jose Villapondo scored the Mustangs’ lone touchdown from three yards out with 4:30 left. The 54-yard scoring drive featured a 35-yard reception by JeyaRajah from quarterback Curtis Williams.

“It was fun. I had a great time,” Byron Williams said of facing Estancia. “[The Eagles] played hard. They played how they were coached to play when I had them, so what can you say? They were better than us today.”