Estancia football takes first loss as offense stalls versus University

Estancia kick returner Brandon Bettinghausen (6) runs around the defense for a touchdown against University.

By Scott FrenchSpecial Contributor

Sept. 13, 2024 5:34 PM PT

IRVINE —

Estancia couldn’t get out of its own way Thursday night, not with the ball in its hands, fumbling away an opportunity to start the campaign at 3-0 for just the second time this century in the grisliest fashion.

The Eagles turned the ball over five times, four on successive drives bridging halftime. Estancia lost four fumbles, two of those from its most potent weapon, in tumbling to a 13-6 nonleague defeat in a “nightmare” at University.

Estancia struggled to sustain drives (never penetrating inside the Trojans’ 30), to convert on third down (three of 10), to balance junior running back Jeff Brown’s gains with an adequate passing game (9 yards on 14 throws), and to keep its defense off the field (more than two thirds of the game), the better to handle a Trojans’ throwing attack that prospered just enough to prevail.

Estancia defender Roy Brown (19) gets into the backfield to tackle University's Justin Tribble (1) on Thursday.

It was all about the turnovers.

“They sure do [kill you],” Estancia coach Mike Bargas said. “You can’t win football games like that. There’s no way we should have won that game, with five turnovers. ... We stunk up the place on offense tonight. ... Just a nightmare.”

Brown topped 100 yards for the third straight week, finishing with 127 (of Estancia’s 148 total yards) on 21 carries, but it was two fumbles — the first, on a handoff, enabling the Trojans to extend their advantage to 13-0 at halftime; the second, at the University 31 after a 10-yard sprint late in the third quarter — that were on his mind at the finish.

Estancia's Jeff Brown (22) runs for a first down during a nonleague football game against University on Thursday.

“We made a lot of mistakes. ... We have a lot of work to do,” Brown said. “Especially me. I’ve got to take that on the chin. A couple fumbles, got to fix that up. The offense, too. We’ve got to get stuff moving.”

University (1-2) went ahead at the start, marching 75 yards on a dozen plays over nearly six minutes behind sophomore quarterback Dylan Elmer, making his first varsity start. He hit on seven of nine passes for 68 yards and a Cruz McMullens’ end-zone grab on the opening drive, and the Trojans added two Jake Rabold field goals before the break, a 27-yarder following another long possession and a 40-yarder to end the half four plays after Brown’s first turnover.

Brandon Bettinghausen, who had fumbled on Estancia’s first possession, gave the Eagles some life, returning the second-half kickoff 90 yards to pull within a touchdown, and the Eagles’ defense stiffened. It limited University to 10 yards and one first down on its next four drives, but that led to nothing: three straight possessions ended with turnovers, with quarterback Heriberto Sanchez Martinez losing the ball on a sack and throwing an interception, and then Brown’s second miscue.

Estancia's Jorge Castor Cortinas (8) trips up University's Carl Oldham for an open-field tackle on Thursday.

The Eagles did little with the ball after that, going out on downs both times, and University used up half the fourth-quarter clock with a 14-play drive en route to another Rabold field-goal try, this one blocked by Julian Muro after a bad snap and bobbled hold.

“We started off slow, and then defense started clicking, and we didn’t do anything with what they gave us ...,” Bargas said. “It’s time to regroup. Back to the drawing board. We had a lot of errors that shouldn’t have happened, and they did, so maybe this was a reality check for us.”